So have you ever been to a fancy political event, and the registration person hands you a ticket for a “prize drawing”, and you’re all “oh, a raffle”, and the registration person is all, “no, it’s a prize drawing,” and you’re all “what’s the difference?”?
Well, in Georgia, the difference is a possible felony conviction, punishable by a maximum 5 years, or a fine not to exceed $20,000.00, or both.
That’s because under Georgia law (O.C.G.A § 16-12-20(4)), raffles are considered lotteries. And lotteries are generally prohibited under the Georgia Constitution (Art. 1, § 2, Para. 8(a)). Whereas, bona fide prize drawings are not lotteries (see § 16-12-20(4), and § 10-1-393).
But, you're thinking, I've bought tickets for raffles before! And they called it a raffle! For a lucky few groups, there are some exceptions that have been carved out of this ban. But before you decide to quit your job and become a full-time raffle promoter, please note that the only entities permitted to operate raffles are nonprofit, tax-exempt churches, schools, civic organizations, or related support groups; nonprofit organizations qualified under §501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, or bona fide nonprofit organizations. If you happen to represent one of these entities, and you want to have a raffle, your group must first obtain a permit from the county Sheriff’s Office by jumping through the various hoops that the legislature and relevant Sheriff’s Office (see this page for an example) have set (mainly proving that your group is really a nonprofit).
Well, now, in light of all this, perhaps you’ve decided that raffles are too complicated, and you would rather be a Bingo promoter. My friend, I have some somber news for you: the Bingo rules are even more restrictive than the raffle/lottery rules.
As with raffles, only non-profits can get a license to run a Bingo shop. And forget about the county Sheriff’s Office, you have to get this license from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Plus there’s a ton of record-keeping required. According to the GBI’s website, Georgia's bingo statute is one of the most restrictive in the country. Even though you may think Bingo the harmless pastime of grannies and drag queens, the GBI seems to think there are tons of nefarious promoters out there just waiting to violate the gambling statutes, which is why the state’s law enforcement apparatus takes it so seriously.
So next time someone hands you a ticket for a "prize drawing", just nod your head in agreement, okay?
Comments (1)
Paula, thanks so much for putting this together. I've tagged it under RESOURCES and ACTIVISM and hope to build a small library of helpful info like this.
At some point, I'll also go back through the old archives and restore some of the other RESOURCE entries we've all written over the years.