Are Booster Club Raffles Legal? Raffle Laws by State

Why a Raffle Is Legally a Lottery

State law generally defines a lottery by three elements: a prize, awarded by chance, to people who paid consideration (money or something else of value) for the chance to win. A raffle has all three. Utah’s code is typical: a lottery is any scheme for distributing property by chance among people who paid for the chance, “whether called a lottery, raffle, or gift enterprise, or by whatever name it is known.”

Renaming the ticket price does not remove consideration. Tennessee’s Secretary of State puts it directly: if someone must pay for a chance to win a prize, it is a raffle, and “it does not matter that the payment is called a ‘donation.’” Removing an element does change the analysis. A drawing with genuinely free entry has no consideration, and an auction has no chance. Those options are covered in Alternatives When Raffles Are Not Allowed.

How States Allow Charitable Raffles

Most states prohibit lotteries in their constitution or criminal code, then create a narrow exception for raffles run by qualifying nonprofits. A raffle that misses any condition falls back under the general prohibition. States differ on who administers the exception:

• A state agency registers or licenses the raffle. California’s Attorney General registers nonprofit raffles. Tennessee’s Secretary of State takes applications, and the legislature approves each organization.
• The statute sets the rules and no state permit exists. Texas has no raffle license; the Charitable Raffle Enabling Act sets conditions, and county or district attorneys or the Attorney General may sue to stop a raffle that does not meet them.
• Local government issues the permit. In some states a city or county licenses raffles; the club’s state page names the agency.

What State Raffle Laws Typically Control

States That Prohibit or Heavily Restrict Charitable Raffles

Prohibited

• Alabama. Section 65 of the Alabama Constitution bars the Legislature from authorizing lotteries or gift enterprises and requires it to pass laws prohibiting them. In a cease-and-desist letter reported in October 2024, the Attorney General’s office stated that raffles selling tickets for a chance at a prize are illegal lotteries under Ala. Code § 13A-12-20 and following. House Bill 47 (2025) proposed a constitutional amendment to allow traditional paper raffles and bingo for charitable purposes. A February 2026 bill (House Bill 448) still describes lotteries and gift enterprises as prohibited under Section 65.
• Hawaii. Hawaii’s penal code prohibits gambling, including lotteries, and has no exception for charitable raffles. It defines a lottery as a scheme in which players “pay or agree to pay something of value for chances” and winners are chosen by a drawing or other method based on chance (Hawaii Revised Statutes § 712-1220). A 2013 Hawaii House resolution (House Resolution 29) stated that “current state law prohibits raffles if money is charged for the raffle tickets” and asked the Attorney General to report on which charitable fundraising methods are lawful; the Attorney General issued guidance on charitable raffles in 2014.
• Utah. Article VI, Section 27 of the Utah Constitution states: “The Legislature shall not authorize any game of chance, lottery or gift enterprise under any pretense or for any purpose.” Utah Code § 76-9-1401 defines a lottery to include a raffle, and Utah’s gambling statutes contain no charitable exception.

Heavily Restricted

• Tennessee. Only 501(c)(3) organizations (charities recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS) and 501(c)(19) veterans’ organizations operating in Tennessee for three years may apply, online between July 1 and January 31, with a $50 nonrefundable fee. The General Assembly must approve each organization by a two-thirds vote. An approved club holds one event per event period (July 1 through June 30), sells tickets no earlier than 120 days before it, and files a financial report within 90 days with a second fee of $100 to $550 based on gross revenue. Authorized games are raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks, cake wheels, and bingo, so even a cakewalk needs approval.
• Texas. Under the Charitable Raffle Enabling Act (Texas Occupations Code chapter 2002), the club must have existed for the three preceding years and hold a federal 501(c) exemption. Prizes may not be money, which rules out a cash 50/50. The club must own the prize or post bond for its value with the county clerk, set the drawing date before selling tickets, and offer refunds if prizes are not awarded within 30 days of that date. Sellers may not be paid.

Worked Example: California

California’s process shows what full compliance involves.

1. Confirm eligibility. The club must be a private nonprofit qualified to do business in California for at least one year and exempt from state tax under a Revenue and Taxation Code section 23701 subsection listed in Penal Code § 320.5(c), usually 23701d for a booster club. The Attorney General states that “IRS exemption does not qualify an organization to conduct raffles.”
2. Keep the charity registration current. A club that is delinquent, suspended, or revoked with the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers is denied a raffle registration.
3. Register for the raffle. File Form CT-NRP-1 with the Registry and pay the $30 fee. Registration covers January 1 through December 31 and is due by January 1, or at least 60 days before the raffle for later registrations. No tickets may be sold until the confirmation letter arrives. December sales for a January drawing require registration for both years.
4. Apply the 90/10 rule. At least 90% of gross ticket receipts for each drawing must be used for charitable purposes in California. On $5,000 in sales, at least $4,500 goes to programs and no more than $500 covers costs such as tickets and purchased prizes. Other club funds may pay raffle costs, used prudently.
5. Run it as the statute requires. A person 18 or older supervises the raffle. Each ticket has a detachable stub for the drawing. The raffle may be advertised online but not conducted online. A 50/50 raffle50/50 raffleA raffle in which the winner receives half of the ticket sales and the club keeps the other half, usually sold and drawn during one game or event. It is legally a raffle with a cash prize, so state raffle law applies.All terms is illegal unless the organization is in the Major League Sports Raffle Program under Penal Code § 320.6.
6. Report. File one Form CT-NRP-2 for all raffles held during the calendar year by February 1 of the next year. Estimates are not accepted; raffle money is tracked separately from other event money.

Failing to comply is a misdemeanor, and the Attorney General may also suspend or revoke the registration. California exempts from registration a drawing where tickets are distributed for free on the same terms as tickets given with a donation and no one must pay to win (Penal Code § 320.5(m)). See California.

The District and Local Layer

State permission is necessary but not sufficient. District policy may restrict games of chance on campus, at school events, or by students, or require approval of every fundraiser. The club checks the district policy and the facility-use agreement before setting a date. See School District Fundraising Policies and MOUs.

State-by-State Summary

The table below summarizes whether charitable raffles are allowed in each state and the District of Columbia, who regulates them, and the main conditions. Each state name links to that state’s full page.

Each state page has the full rule, the agency, the permit process, and the sources it was checked against. “Legal, restricted” means a permit may not be required but conditions such as a minimum age for the organization, a ban on cash prizes, or a cap on raffles per year apply. “Unclear” in the online column means the statute is silent or sources conflict; the state page says which.