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Please read the following answers to the most frequently asked questions.
No. Just send a letter stating the reasons why the date needs to be changed, signed by the CEO and local unit of government (city or county approval). Mail to: Gambling Control Board, 1711 West County Road B, Suite 300 South, Roseville, MN 55113. See Lawful Gambling Manual, Chapter 7 Raffles, for changing a raffle date.
See the Lawful Gambling Manual, Chapter 7 Raffles. View a sample raffle ticket.
No, 50/50 raffles (or 60/40 or any other percentage) must be based on gross receipts. See Minnesota Rules, part 7861.0310, subpart 7a. (This applies to licensed organizations and to exempt/excluded organizations.)
No. However, at a minimum the three most expensive prizes must be listed on the raffle ticket. If additional prizes will be awarded, the raffle ticket must state, "A complete list of additional prizes is available upon request.”
No. You may not sell tickets through your website, but you are allowed to advertise the raffle on the website. Raffle tickets may not be sold online.
Yes:
However, a person under 18 may sell raffle tickets for a nonprofit organization authorized to conduct a raffle.
No, credit cards may not be accepted. Only cash, personal checks, cashier’s checks, money orders, travelers’ checks, and debit cards may be accepted.
No. The act of selling tickets with the compensation of earning an entry in a drawing would constitute “consideration” and therefore make the drawing an illegal raffle. However, you could pay compensation based solely on the number of tickets sold. For example, you could pay $100 to each person who sells over 100 tickets. Or you could pay each seller $1 for each ticket sold, or $500 to just the person who sells the most tickets. These payments would be treated as compensation in the same manner as payments made to a gambling manager or pull-tab seller.
No. Gambling activity refers to the actual time gambling takes place. In the case of an exempt raffle, the gambling activity is when the actual winning tickets are drawn. An exempt organization may sell tickets in advance of the raffle date as long as the tickets are in compliance with statute and rule.
Yes. If prizes require registration or licensure by a government agency as a condition of ownership (e.g., ATVs, cars, guns, etc.), a certificate of merchandise must be used. A certificate for merchandise or services awarded as a prize must include: a complete description, including the value, of the merchandise or services; the name of the vendor from whom the certificate must be redeemed; and a statement expressly prohibiting the substitution of cash or another type of merchandise or service for the prize described on the certificate.
No. Board rules prohibit awarding raffle tickets as prizes.
(Note: Licensed organizations see Lawful Gambling Manual, Chapter 7 Raffles, for prize limits.)
Another set of raffle tickets is printed on blue paper with a ticket price of 6 for $5.
Yes, you may print your own raffle tickets but you must have an invoice or documentation that states who printed the tickets, the number of tickets printed, the sequential numbers used, and selling price printed on the tickets.
Yes, house rules must be posted where the winning tickets will be selected.
House rules for raffles must contain:
Yes. Gambling funds may only be spent for allowable expenses and lawful purposes. See how you may and may not spend your gambling funds.
View information on alternative raffles that have been approved or denied by the Gambling Control Board.
No.
No.
Contact the Compliance Specialist assigned to your organization's county for the appropriate course of action.
Yes. An organization must keep all records of excluded gambling activity, including raffles and bingo (except for senior citizen bingo), for 3-1/2 years. Raffle records must include seller(s) information (tickets sold and returned, cash received), a copy of a complete raffle ticket, and all winning and unsold tickets or certificates of participation.
Bingo may be conducted within a nursing home or senior citizen housing project or by a senior citizen organization. For specific prize limits, see Minnesota Statutes, section 349.166, subdivision 1(b).
Yes. An organization authorized to conduct bingo may borrow bingo number selection devices and bingo hard cards from an authorized organization. However, you may not borrow bingo paper.
After 3-1/2 years, gambling product may be destroyed by shredding, burning, or soaking. Contact a Compliance Specialist with any questions on record or gambling destruction.
Not necessarily. A school district may conduct a raffle without obtaining a license and, within certain limits (see #5 below), without reporting to the Board if the following conditions are met:
1. The tickets for the raffle may only be sold and the drawing held at a high school event sponsored by a school district.
2. All tickets must be sold for the same price and may only be sold to persons over age 18 attending the event.
3. The drawing must be held during or immediately after the conclusion of the event.
4. One-half of the gross receipts from ticket sales must be awarded as prizes. The remaining half may only be used to defray the school district’s costs of sending event participants to high school activities held at other locations.
5. If a school district’s gross receipts from the raffle exceed $12,000 in a calendar year or $5,000 in a single raffle, the school district must report the following information to the Gambling Control Board:
Minnesota Statutes, Section 609.761, subdivision 5, is the authority for these types of raffles.
