Raffles
Raffle means a lottery in which each participant buys a ticket for an article or articles put up as a prize with the winner being determined by a random drawing.
A raffle can be conducted in various ways. You may offer a cash prize, but each pool of tickets for cash winnings will be considered a separate raffle, and the winner(s) must be awarded 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of tickets.
You may also offer a tangible prize or a list of tangible prizes. Gift cards and prepaid credit cards are considered tangible articles. You may decide to hold one drawing from the pool of tickets sold or have multiple drawings from the same pool of tickets with dates identified on the application. You may also choose to pull from the same pool on various dates throughout the month in the case of a calendar raffle. All of these options are permissible as long as you conclude ticket sales prior to the first drawing and you do not add to the pool of tickets.
Raffle tickets sold to the purchaser must include the following information pursuant to State law: the name of the charitable organization running the raffle, the date and place of the drawing, the prize or prizes to be awarded, and the amount of the donation.
A raffle may be conducted online so long as the number of tickets to be sold is pre-determined, the age of the purchaser can be verified, the purchaser receives a ticket (virtually or in paper form) containing all information required by State statute, and a random drawing is conducted to determine the winner.
Once the drawing(s) have occurred, the applicant is required to submit a list of winners and their contact information to the City Clerk’s office.
EXEMPTIONS:
Any charitable organization may conduct a raffle and sell tickets without a permit so long as the tickets are sold at an event lasting 12 hours or less.
A raffle permit is not required for raffles held in conjunction with bingo games.
Obtaining a License
The City Clerk is the licensing authority for Raffle Licenses. To obtain a license, the applicant must complete an application that is submitted to the City Clerk’s Office along with the applicable fee. The City Clerk’s Office will review the application and look back at the applicant’s file to ensure that the winners of previously held raffles have been submitted. If all is in order, the City Clerk will issue the license immediately.
Licenses issued under this section of the City Code are date-specific and can be issued for a series of dates. The application fee for this license is $20.00.
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