The Raffle Compliance Checklist You'll Wish You Had Last Year

Nobody starts a raffle thinking "I should check the gaming regulations first." But you should. Because the rules are different in every state, the fines are real, and the good news is it's usually not that hard to stay compliant.

Australia — the basics

Every Australian state has a permit threshold — a prize value below which you can run a raffle without a permit. Above it, you need one.

If your meat tray is worth $80, you're fine. If your charity gala prize pool is $6,000 in Queensland, you need a permit from the OLGR. It's a form, not a court appearance. Apply early — some take 2–4 weeks.

United States — it's complicated

Three states ban raffles entirely: Alabama, Hawaii, and Utah. If you're there, stop reading. In most other states, only qualified nonprofits (501(c)(3) organisations) can run raffles, and you usually need a permit regardless of prize value.

The good news: the permit process is usually straightforward. The bad news: every state has a different authority. Texas is the Comptroller. New York is the Gaming Commission. Florida is the Department of Agriculture. (Yes, really.)

United Kingdom — actually reasonable

The Gambling Act 2005 covers England, Scotland, and Wales. Small lotteries under £20,000 per draw just need local council registration. Incidental lotteries at events (prizes under £500) are exempt entirely. Northern Ireland has its own rules with a lower £1,000 threshold.

What you actually need to do

1. 1Know your threshold. Check your state's permit threshold against your total prize value. Drawdrop shows you this automatically when you set up a draw.

1. 1Apply for a permit if needed. Do it 2–4 weeks before your event. Most are online forms. Cost is usually $0–$50.

1. 1Display your permit number. Put it on the raffle page, the tickets, and any promotional material. Drawdrop lets you store this in settings and it shows automatically on your draw pages.

1. 1Keep records. Ticket sales, winner details, prize values. Keep them for 3 years minimum. Drawdrop does this for you — export a CSV any time.

1. 1Track your licence expiry. Permits expire. Set the date in Drawdrop and you'll get a warning when it's time to renew.

What happens if you don't comply?

In Australia, running an unlicensed raffle above the threshold can result in fines up to $11,000 (NSW) or $13,000 (QLD). In the US, it varies by state but can include both fines and criminal charges for unregistered gambling.

The effort to comply is about 30 minutes of paperwork. The risk of not complying is not worth it.

The easy version

Set your state in Drawdrop. Enter your prize value. Follow the checklist. Upload your permit. Done.