February 20, 2010

Lion Barry J. Boline, J.D.Grafton Lions Club

Class A and B Raffle LicensesCalendar RafflesBingoOther gambling-type fundraising

Remember to old saying, “you get what you pay for”? By the very nature of this discussion, we will be talking about generalities which may or may not apply in a given situation. This presentation should NOT be relied upon as legal advice. I would encourage you to contact an attorney or accountant for your particular situation.

Generally ILLEGAL under Federal lawState law allows certain specific

types Raffles▪ Class A and Class B

Calendar Raffles Bingo Other gambling-type fundraisers

Two general types of Raffles

Class A (Pre-event sale)

Class B (Same day sale)

Pre-Printed Tickets Must have required information on ticket

Pre-event sales Typically two-part tickets

Sales start no more that 270 days before event

Face to Face sales only Stubs cannot be mailed. (USPS says

nothing can be mailed) No internet sales

Maximum cost of $100 per ticket

Tickets must be the same form“Bucket Raffles” must have different

ticket per bucket to be legalAll Prizes must be awardedSame money gets same number of

ticketsNo more than $10 per ticket

Go to www.dos.state.wi.us keyword RAFFLE

Print out the application form (one for each Class, i.e. TWO applications)

Mail them in with $25 each

Renew annually

Must have a Class A license

Must get Calendar pre-approved Send sample to Department of Gaming They will respond within ten days

All of the Class A rules apply

Any service organization may apply for a bingo license

Fee is $10.00 for each bingo occasion plus an annual license fee of $5.00

Additional occupational fee of 1%-2% of gross receipts, payable semi-annually

All organizations conducting bingo games must be licensed by the Wisconsin Division of Gaming

Every bingo occasion held must be listed on the license

Every bingo organization must maintain a separate “bingo checking account”

Each organization must file financial bingo occasion reports twice each year

Twice a year, each licensed organization must pay an occupational tax on proceeds

Every organization conducting bingo must have a Seller’s Permit and collectsales tax from the players

A comprehensive bookkeeping system must be utilized and all records kept for atleast four years

All profits from operations must be used for proper and legitimate expenditures

All bingo supplies and equipment must be purchased from a licensed supplier

Only bingo workers who have no record of criminal activity can assist in theconduct of bingo

Location where bingo held cannot be owned or operated by anyone with a criminal record, or gambling offense

Much more heavily regulated than raffles

See www.doa.state.wi.us for more info

Casino Nights Games such as Las Vegas nights where

participants make a payment or donation in order to gamble with play money, and then use the play money at the end of the evening to bid on prizes . . .

constitute ILLEGAL lotteries under Wisconsin law. The law does not exempt benevolent or nonprofit organizations.

Pull Tabs Private games are being supplied illegally

or under a loophole in Wisconsin law

In recent years, the department has referred 13 cases to local district attorneys for prosecution for SALE of pull tabs

--The Associated Press ,November 20, 2008

Only Wisconsin Lottery pull tabs are legal

Any other pull tabs not produced by the Wisconsin Lottery are not legal in Wisconsin

All other promotions in Wisconsin are illegal if:

They involve a prize

They involve consideration

They involve chance

Class A and B Raffles (with license)Calendar Raffles (with Class A

license)Bingo (with license)Certain Crane games (with license)

with prizes under $5 eachPull Tabs produced by and sold on

behalf of the Wisconsin Lottery

Two informative websites:

www.doa.state.wi.uswww. datcp.state.wi.us

This PowerPoint presentation can be downloaded at www. Graftonlions.org – look for the VDG Barry Boline button on the left hand side