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December 21, 2010
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Massachusetts House Raffle Laws

Yes, House Raffles are legal in Massachusetts. In order to begin planning a house raffle in this state, a non-profit organization has to have been established for two years or more before they apply for a permit. Raffles of any kind are looked at as gambling in the state of Massachusetts and are regulated by the gambling laws. Once given the permit, the organization can start the planning of the event. The one obstacle organizations face when publicizing their Massachusetts house raffle is the law does allow them to sell tickets online.

Right now, the law requires that both the ticket seller and buyer sign the actual ticket which means that it would be difficult for non-profits in this state to sell enough tickets to have a successful house raffle as they are limited to only the people in their immediate surrounding areas.

References:

http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Charitable-Gaming/Massachusetts/Massachusetts-Raffle.htm

http://www.ehow.com/list_6127643_massachusetts-raffle-laws.html

http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=cagoterminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Non-Profits+%26+Charities&L2=Charitable+Organizations&L3=Raffles+and+Other+Gaming+Activity&L4=Guidance+on+Raffles&sid=Cago&b=terminalcontent&f=nonprofit_faqs_about_raffles&csid=Cago

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December 11, 2010
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Virginia House Raffle Laws

Virginia is a state that allows for legal house raffles. The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Charitable Gaming Board is in charge of regulations for non-profit gaming in Virginia. Before a non-profit starts to organize a property raffle in Virginia, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services must permit it and in order for an organization to even be considered for a permit, it first and foremost be 501(c)(3) in good standing, meaning it is a non-profit organization with a validate determination letter from the IRS and registered with the state of Virginia.
The non-profit must have been in existence for over three years and have a physicial presence in the state for at least three years. The only exceptions to this rule are, non-profits benefitting children’s education, a chapter of an already existed national charity, or a volunteer fire and rescue club already approved by the state or city. Also, the organization must have at least 50% of its members living locally, unless it is a chapter apart of a national cause. Once a permit is issued, it must be used up by the dates on the ticket or within two years, depending on what the Gaming Board approved it for.

References:
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Charitable-Gaming/Virginia/
http://www.ehow.com/list_6862743_virginia-raffle-regulations.html

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December 1, 2010
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Are House Raffles Legal In Delaware?

The state of Delaware is a very house raffle friendly state. It is legal to put on a house raffle in Delaware but it must be put on and organized in conjunction with a non-profit organization. In order to begin planning a house raffle in Delaware, an organization must first send in an application to the Delaware Gaming Control Board. If awarded the gaming license, the non-profit has only one year to plan and execute the property raffle.

The state requires for these certain things to be included on the raffle ticket itself: full description of the raffle, appraised value of the prize, number of minimum tickets that need to be sold, refund process in case not enough tickets are sold, draw date, and a description of where the proceeds will be going. Also, the raffle tickets selling price cannot exceed $150 per ticket.

References:

http://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title10/100/102.shtml

http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Charitable-Gaming/Delaware/Bingo-Raffles.htm

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November 30, 2010
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Charity Refunds Money to Ticket-Buyers

As discussed in several of our house raffle blogs, when a house raffle doesn’t end up being as successful as planned, the non-profit must refund the tickets to all ticket buyers. Well, a recent Maryland apartment raffle is going through just this situation.

The Liberian Center, a local Maryland non-profit organization, had pulled out all of the stops in putting together their house raffle of an apartment building. The Liberian Center was hoping to sell at least 50,000 tickets but was unable to reach their goal in time. They are currently refunding 100% of each ticket sold to the ticket buyers. What went wrong some might ask? Well, Gus, the head of the Liberian Center tells RaffleAHouse that the organization didn’t have the resources in order to get the proper publicity out to the public.

“Not too many people are aware that there are house raffles going on out there and the people that do know about it, we didn’t have the resources to reach them. We started the publicity at the last minute, and we should have been doing that from the beginning,” Gus tells RaffleAHouse.Com.

The refunding process started immediately on their website, www.20dollarbuilding.com, and will continue throughout the next three years. In order for ticket buyers to receive their refund, they must fill out the “refund voucher form”, which can be found on the website, and mail or fax it into the organization along with a copy of the ticket. Ticket buyers will then receive their refund in the mail shortly after.

While a failing house raffle might discourage some non-profits to ever think of doing one again, Gus tells us that they are already planning for a 2011 House Raffle. “We have learned so much, this has been a learning process because we have never done anything like this. If nothing else, we now know what we need to do in order to reach the audience that will be willing to support the project for the next time,” Gus tells RaffleAHouse.Com.

For more information about the refunding of the Liberian Center House Raffle or for your “refund voucher form”, please go to www.20dollarbuilding.com or call 410-244-8775.

References:

http://www.20dollarbuilding.com/Public_Notice_Raffle_Cancellation.pdf

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November 29, 2010
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Are House Raffles Legal in Connecticut?

Although the state doesn’t necessarily come out and say it, due to the strict limitations and new changes made to the state laws, house raffles are not legal in the state of Connecticut. According to the state’s government website in Section 7-170, raffles are legal but the raffling off of property as a prize is not. In order for a non-profit to get started on conducting a raffle in Connecticut, they need to obtain a license from the state.

After applying, there are different types of permits that organizations get granted; “Class No. 1”, “Class No. 2”, “Class No. 3”, “Class No. 4”,”Class No.5”, “Class No.6” and “Class No.7”. Each “Class No.” allows for different rules on the timing of the raffle and price of the prizes to be given out. At first glance, the “Class No.6” permit sounds like it would be the closest one for a house raffle because it gives the most time, the raffle to be done within one year of receiving the permit, and the largest amount of a prize at one hundred thousand dollars. The catch of this is permit is that Connecticut is a very expensive state and property values are way higher than $100,000. Therefore, this state is not a house raffle friendly state.

References:

http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/pub/Chap098.htm#Sec7-170.htm

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