Is it legal for a non-profit organization to hold either a national raffle or a national sweepstakes?


legal
Jennifer J asked:


I am looking to organize a fundraiser to offset costs incurred by individual players on my sport’s National Team. The national govering body for the sport is a not-for-profit organization, but this would not directly involve that organization in any way. Would a sweepstakes with “suggested donations” being payable online be legal?

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Law & Ethics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Is it legal for a non-profit organization to hold either a national raffle or a national sweepstakes?”

  1. wowinca Says:

    Non-profit organizations have raffles all the time, this is a common fund raising tool.

    Just make sure it does not violate the bylaws of the non-profit and that you comply with whatever gambling laws are applicable (usually state laws). Many states have special gambling laws for non-profits for fundraisers just like this to make it easier for the non-profits than it would be for someone in business of gambling. wowinca

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