An Act To Update and Clarify the Laws Governing Raffles
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §1837-A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 365, §1, is further amended to read:
§ 1837-A. Raffles
1. Registration required. Unless otherwise specified by this section, a person or organization may not conduct a raffle without registering with the Gambling Control Unit.
2. Raffle with a prize of $2,500 or less. A Except for raffles conducted by an eligible organization under subsection 2-A, a person or organization is not required to register with the Gambling Control Unit to conduct a raffle in which the total value of the prize offered to the holder of the winning chance does not exceed $2,500. If the raffle is conducted in a manner in which there are multiple winning chances, the total value of all prizes offered may not exceed a value of $2,500.
2-A. Raffle with a prize of $10,000 or less conducted by eligible organization. An eligible organization as described in section 1832, subsection 2 is not required to register with the Gambling Control Unit to conduct a raffle in which the total value of the prize offered to the holder of the winning chance does not exceed $10,000. If the raffle is conducted in a manner in which there are multiple winning chances, the total value of all prizes offered may not exceed a value of $10,000.
3. Raffle with a noncash prize of $2,501 to $10,000. A Except for raffles conducted by an eligible organization under subsection 4, a person or organization may conduct a raffle in which the total value of the prize offered to the holder of the winning chance is greater than $2,501 and does not exceed $10,000 upon the acceptance of a registration by the Gambling Control Unit. The Gambling Control Unit may not accept a registration for a raffle under this subsection unless the registration states a verifiable charitable purpose for which the proceeds of the raffle are dedicated to benefit. If the raffle is conducted in a manner in which there are multiple winning chances, the total value of all prizes offered may not exceed a value of $10,000. A prize offered for a raffle conducted under this subsection may not be in the form of cash and may not be exchanged for cash.
4. Raffle with a noncash prize up to $75,000 conducted by eligible organization; cash prizes up to $20,000. An eligible organization as described in section 1832, subsection 2 may conduct a raffle in which the total value of the prize offered to the holder of the winning chance does not exceed $75,000 upon the acceptance of a registration by the Gambling Control Unit. The registration must state a verifiable charitable purpose for which the proceeds of the raffle are dedicated to benefit. If the raffle is conducted in a manner in which there are multiple winning chances, the total value of all prizes offered may not exceed a value of $75,000. A noncash prize for a raffle conducted under this subsection may be in the alternate form of cash or may not be exchanged for cash not to exceed $20,000. The total amount of cash prizes that may be awarded for a raffle conducted under this subsection may not exceed $20,000 with no more than one $10,000 prize for the holder of a winning chance. An eligible organization may not conduct more than one raffle under this subsection in a 12-month period.
5. Raffle conducted by persons 18 years of age or older; exception. Raffle chances or tickets may not be sold by a person under 18 years of age, except for raffles conducted under subsections 2 and 3 designed to benefit activities of children at an event generally attended by persons under 18 years of age.
6. Multiple raffles. An eligible organization as described in section 1832, subsection 2 may conduct more than one raffle at a time under this section. Each raffle conducted under this subsection must meet the requirements of subsection 2-A or subsection 4.
summary
This bill amends the law governing raffles for certain nonprofit organizations in the following ways:
1. Increasing the amount of total value of all prizes for which the nonprofit organization is not required to register the raffle with the Gambling Control Unit from $2,500 to $10,000;
2. Allowing noncash raffle prizes to be in the alternate form of cash or to be exchanged for cash;
3. Removing the limitation allowing only one raffle with a noncash prize up to $75,000 and a cash prize up to $20,000 in a 12-month period; and
4. Clarifying that the nonprofit organization may conduct more than one raffle at a time.