February 20, 2010 Lion Barry J. Boline, J.D. Grafton Lions Club

Class A and B Raffle Licenses Calendar Raffles Bingo Other 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 law State 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 legal All Prizes must be awarded Same money gets same number of tickets No more than $10 per ticket

Go to 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 Sellers Permit and collect sales tax from the players

A comprehensive bookkeeping system must be utilized and all records kept for at least 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 the conduct 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 for more infowww.doa.state.wi.us

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 each Pull Tabs produced by and sold on behalf of the Wisconsin Lottery

Two informative websites: www. 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