DOJ Clamping Down On Unlicensed Raffles
Last year the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a series of stories on tavern gaming, including charitable games and meat raffles. It brought to light the fact that a lot of the raffles—even those done for charity—are not legal in Wisconsin if they’re not done right.
Taverns organizing a charitable raffle—whether it’s for a league sponsored charity or the local SafeRide—need to utilize a charitable gaming license and display the license number. Individual establishments are not allowed a license, so that means establishments should work with an organization like a local American Legion, Lions Club, or other qualified group that currently holds a license. If the local Tavern League has a foundation, a raffle license can be applied for and individual establishments can run their raffle through the local league as well.
A license cannot be applied for through a regular 501(c)(6) account run by a local league. A 501(c)(3) foundation account must be established. If a local league does not have a foundation account, there is a one year waiting period after the account is set up before the foundation is eligible to apply for the charitable license.
Lately, we’ve been hearing from various parts of the state that the state DOJ is becoming more interested in making sure establishments are utilizing the proper licenses when doing their charitable raffles. License enforcement of charitable raffles has traditionally been a low priority, with a focus being on the most egregious violators and unreasonably large pots. For whatever reason, that’s now changing, so violating these rules now comes with a risk.
Moving forward, establishments conducting raffles need to keep in mind that the only lawful raffles are done for charitable purposes, using an appropriate charitable gaming license.
Beyond these charitable activities, the only fully legal gambling in Wisconsin remains those games conducted by the state lottery and those authorized on tribal lands and casinos.
Local tavern leagues that have a foundation account set up can apply for a license if they don’t already have one. The link to learn more and to apply for a license can be found here. The licenses are administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration – Division of Gaming, and enforcement is largely run through the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Local league leaders who want to learn more about charitable raffles and the license application process are urged to attend the annual League Leaders meeting in Oshkosh on August 24th. We’ll be joined by staff from the Department of Administration, who will walk attendees through the applicable laws and how to legally run your charitable raffles.
In addition, we’ll hear from officials at the Division of Alcohol Beverages (DAB). State lottery officials will be on hand to discuss new opportunities they’ll be offering retailers, and we’ll discuss other issues that affect the industry, including video gaming.
See you in Oshkosh!