How to Run a Raffle at an Event: Rules and Steps

To run a raffle at an event, first confirm that your organization is allowed to hold one where the event takes place and get any license or permit required. Then choose a ticket format and price, secure and describe the prizes, publish clear rules, sell tickets with a numbered stub system, and hold the drawing publicly with witnesses. Keep records of every ticket sold and every dollar raised, because regulators commonly require them.

Raffles look simple, but in most places they are legally a form of lottery or gambling. That is why the legal check comes first in this guide and why you should treat everything below as general guidance, not legal advice.

Check whether you can legally run a raffle

Raffle law varies by country, by state or province, and sometimes by city or county. Rules that are routine in one state can be a criminal offense in the next, and they change over time. Before you plan prizes or print tickets, find out the rules that apply to your event.

Questions to answer before you start

• Who may run a raffle? Many jurisdictions limit raffles to qualified nonprofit, charitable, religious, educational or community organizations, sometimes only after they have existed for a set period. For-profit businesses are often excluded.
• Is a license, permit or registration needed? Some places license every raffle, some exempt small raffles held as part of an event, and some require registration above a certain prize value or ticket revenue.
• Who may sell and buy tickets? Age limits are common for buyers and sellers, and some rules restrict paid staff or professional fundraisers from running the raffle.
• What can be offered as a prize? Cash, alcohol, firearms, vehicles and real estate are among the prizes that can carry extra rules or be prohibited.
• Where can tickets be sold? In-person sales at the event, sales in advance across a state line, and online sales can be treated very differently.
• What must you report? Many regulators require records of tickets sold, prizes awarded and how proceeds were used, and some require a report after the drawing.

Who to ask

In the United States, start with your state's charitable gaming, gaming control or lottery authority, or the state attorney general's charities office, and then check with your city or county clerk. In Canada, raffle licensing is handled by provincial gaming and lottery regulators and, in some provinces, municipalities. In the UK, check guidance from the Gambling Commission and your local licensing authority. Elsewhere, ask the national or regional gambling regulator. If the rules are unclear, ask a lawyer who works with nonprofits.

Tax is a separate question. Prize winners may owe tax on what they win, your organization may have reporting duties for larger prizes, and raffle tickets are generally not treated as charitable donations because the buyer gets a chance to win. Ask your accountant before you print any claims about deductibility.

Choose a raffle format

Once you know what is allowed, pick a format that suits your crowd and your volunteers. Not every format is legal everywhere, so check yours against the rules you found.

• Classic prize raffle. Buyers get numbered tickets, and one or more winners are drawn for set prizes. Easy to understand and to run.
• Basket or pick-a-prize raffle. Each prize has its own container, and buyers drop tickets into the ones they want. It suits events with many donated baskets and lets guests choose what to play for.
• 50/50 raffle. The winner takes half of the money collected and the organization keeps the other half. Some jurisdictions regulate 50/50 draws separately or more strictly, so check this one carefully.
• Reverse raffle. Tickets are drawn and eliminated one by one, and the last ticket wins. It adds suspense to a dinner program but takes longer.
• Single big-ticket raffle. A limited number of higher-priced tickets for one large prize, such as a trip. It needs strong presale and very careful compliance, since larger raffles often face stricter rules.

Match the format to the evening. A family festival or school fair suits a cheap, fast basket raffle with lots of small winners, while a seated gala can carry a reverse raffle or a single premium prize as part of the program. If the raffle is one of several fundraising activities, keep it simple so it does not compete with the main ask. Our list of fundraising event ideas covers formats a raffle can sit inside, from trivia nights to golf tournaments.

Source and present the prizes

Good prizes sell tickets. A small number of attractive prizes usually works better than a table full of minor items, which you might bundle into baskets or move to a silent auction instead.

• Ask for donations early. Local businesses, sponsors, board members and supporters are the usual sources. Give donors a simple form recording the item, its value, any restrictions and how they want to be credited.
• Describe each prize precisely. Include what is and is not included, expiry dates, blackout dates and any travel restrictions, so the winner is not disappointed.
• Display prizes well. Put physical prizes on a lit table near the ticket sellers, with a card for each one. For experiences, use a photo and a short description.
• Credit donors. Name them on prize cards, in the program and from the stage, and send a thank-you afterwards. If sponsors donated prizes, our sponsor email templates include a results email to send afterwards.
• Check prize restrictions. Confirm that every prize is allowed under your raffle rules, especially alcohol, cash equivalents and anything age-restricted.

Price and sell tickets

Pricing

Set a single ticket price low enough for an easy yes, then offer bundles, such as a better rate for a strip of tickets, to raise the average spend. Some events sell an arm's length of tickets for a fixed price, which is fun and memorable. Check that bundle pricing is allowed where you are, as some rules fix ticket prices or require all tickets to cost the same.

Ticket stock and records

Use numbered double tickets: the buyer keeps one half, and the matching stub with their name and phone number goes into the drum. Record the ticket number ranges given to each seller and reconcile them against cash and card receipts at the end of the night. Your regulator may require specific information to be printed on each ticket, such as your organization's name, license number, the drawing date and the prizes.

Selling at the event

Station sellers at the entrance and near the prizes, and give a few volunteers aprons or sashes to sell tickets around the room during dinner or between performances. Brief them on the rules, age checks and what to say if someone asks about odds or prizes. A well-organized volunteer team with clear shifts makes a big difference here. Accept cards as well as cash where your rules allow it, and keep cash in a secured float with two people present when counting.

Hold a fair, transparent drawing

The drawing is where trust is won or lost. Guests need to see that every ticket had the same chance.

1. Publish the rules before sales start: prizes, ticket price, drawing date and time, whether winners must be present, how winners will be contacted and the deadline to claim.
2. Close sales at a stated time and announce it a few minutes beforehand.
3. Mix the stubs thoroughly in a drum or a large container where everyone can see.
4. Use an independent drawer, such as a guest or a child accompanied by a parent, and have a second person read out the number.
5. Record each winner, the ticket number and the prize as you go, with two people signing the record.
6. Draw the smallest prizes first and the main prize last, to keep people in the room.

Build the drawing into your event's run of show so it has a fixed slot, a host who knows the script and enough time to hand over prizes without rushing.

After the raffle: winners, reporting and thanks

• Contact absent winners promptly using the details on their stubs, and follow your published claim deadline.
• Get a signed receipt from each winner, especially for higher-value prizes, and collect any information your accountant needs for tax reporting.
• Reconcile the money: tickets sold by number range, cash and card totals, and expenses.
• File any report your license or permit requires, by the deadline, and keep records for as long as your regulator specifies.
• Share the result. Tell guests and supporters how much the raffle raised and what it will fund. Transparency makes next year's sales easier.

A raffle works well alongside other giving moments. At a gala, it often sits with a silent auction, a live auction or a paddle raise. Our guide on how to plan a gala shows how to fit them into one evening without exhausting your guests.

Where Map D fits

Map D handles the event around your raffle rather than the raffle itself. Where your plan includes ticketing, it sells event tickets and tables, maps the room and checks guests in at the door, and its reports show who attended. It is not a raffle tool: it does not run draws or process donations, so manage ticket sales and the drawing using the method your license or regulator allows.