Protouring Raffle Poll

[Frank69]

Can I throw a word of caution out from the legal side of the house? A raffle, by legal definition is the same thing as a lottery, which is gambling. There is a formula that is used to determine if the raffle/lottery/contest is gambling, and therefore per se illegal. It is:

Prize + Chance + Consideration = Gambling

The prize is the car, the chance is the drawing and the consideration is the cost of the ticket.

In most states the only legal lottery is the state lottery (such as in CA or the multi-state Powerball). Some states have an exception for charities to hold raffles/lotteries. Generally, the charity must be a bona fide non-profit organization, be registered with the state, and is limited to the number of such raffles it may hold each year.

In order to make the raffle legal (if it is not for charitable purposes, and registered as such), you must take out one of the components, either prize, chance or consideration. Most commercial raffles/contests that you see in magazines take out the consideration aspect, which is the easiest. They do this by offering tickets for free (no consideration). Most of the time they put this in the disclaimer, and someone can send them a self-addressed, stamped envelope and receive 1 ticket for free. A person can do this as many times as they want, however.

I've gone on too long, shoot me an e-mail or a pm if you want to know further (and why I know this crap!)



Frank