Chapter 287-A: Raffles

As used in this chapter:

I. "Raffle" means a lottery in which each participant buys a ticket for an article or articles put up as a prize with the winner being determined by a random drawing.

II. "Charitable organization" means the following:

(a) Any person or entity that is determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be a tax exempt organization pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, as that section now exists or may hereafter be amended; or

(b) Any other person or entity that is or holds itself out to be established, in whole or in part, for any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, educational, humane, scientific, public health, environmental conservation, civic, social, sporting, recreational, or other charitable purpose which has been in existence for at least 2 years, or political committee or political party which has been in existence for at least 2 years, or any person who in any manner employs a charitable appeal as the basis of any solicitation or an appeal that suggests that there is a charitable purpose to any solicitation. "Charitable organization" is not limited to those organizations to which contributions are tax deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.

III. "50/50 raffle" means a raffle conducted by a charitable organization whereby moneys collected by sale of raffle tickets are split evenly between the prize winner or winners and the charitable organization after the raffle drawing.

A charitable organization may conduct a raffle to promote the purpose for which it was organized, in the manner hereinafter provided, and not otherwise.

Except for raffles held without a permit under RSA 287-A:7, II, all raffle tickets shall be printed with the name of the charitable organization thereon, the date and place of the drawing, and the prize or prizes to be awarded and the amount of the donation.

Raffle tickets shall be sold only to persons 16 years of age or over and no raffle tickets shall be sold by persons other than the members of the charitable organization or such person or persons, as may be designated by the organization, and who shall receive no financial remuneration.

No charitable organization shall act as an agent for conducting a raffle, where it is unlawful for the charitable organization's principal to conduct such a raffle.

RSA 647 shall not apply to the sale of raffle tickets in the manner provided for in this chapter.

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, any charitable organization desiring to conduct a raffle under the provisions of this chapter shall first obtain a permit therefor from the selectmen or designee of the town, or the mayor and aldermen or designee of the city where the drawing for prizes is to be held. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the permit shall expire at the time of the drawing and shall not be transferable. At the request of the charitable organization to conduct more than one raffle, the governing body may extend the permit to one year from the date of issuance.

II. Any charitable organization may conduct a raffle and sell tickets without a permit so long as the tickets are sold at an event lasting 12 hours or less.

I. All raffle tickets sold in conjunction with bingo games shall be numbered.

II. No ticket or multiple tickets shall be sold for more than $10.

III. Notwithstanding RSA 287-A:4, raffle tickets sold in conjunction with bingo games shall be sold only at bingo games being operated by the charitable organization.

Prizes awarded at any raffle held in conjunction with a bingo game shall not exceed $1,200 wholesale cost.

The provisions of RSA 287-A:7 shall not apply to raffles held in conjunction with bingo games.