Dear kim14-ga;
I found your question interesting and have discovered some facts in
the matter that you will find quite informative:
Chapter 2915 of the Ohio Revised Code contains the Penal Code
provisions on Gambling and in § 2915.01 a ?raffle? like the one you
mentioned is defined:
?(HH) "Raffle" means a form of bingo in which the one or more prizes
are won by one or more persons who have purchased a raffle ticket. The
one or more winners of the raffle are determined by drawing a ticket
stub or other detachable section from a receptacle containing ticket
stubs or detachable sections corresponding to all tickets sold for the
raffle.?
ANDERSON?S ONLINE DOCUMENTATION
Ohio Revised Code § 2915.01 - Definitions
http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll/PORC/18a8e/1929d/1929f?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm&q=raffle&x=Advanced&2.0
Clearly then, a raffle is any chance based game where one pays a fee
in exchange for an opportunity to play with the understanding that he
or she has a potential to win something of value.
Ohio Revised Code § 2915.092 refers specifically to raffles, like the
one you described. The law in this regard is rather brief but clear
and to the point:
?(A) A charitable organization, a public school, a chartered
nonpublic school, a community school, or a sporting organization that
is exempt from federal income taxation under subsection 501(a) and is
described in subsection 501(c) (3), 501(c) (4), or 501(c) (7) of the
Internal Revenue Code may conduct a raffle to raise money for the
organization or school and does not need a license to conduct bingo in
order to conduct a raffle drawing that is not for profit.
(B) Except as provided in division (A) of this section, no person
shall conduct a raffle drawing that is for profit or a raffle drawing
that is not for profit.
(C) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of
illegal conduct of a raffle. Except as otherwise provided in this
division, illegal conduct of a raffle is a misdemeanor of the first
degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation
of division (B) of this section, illegal conduct of a raffle is a
felony of the fifth degree.
HISTORY: 149 v H 512. Eff 4-3-2003; 150 v H 95, § 1, eff. 7-1-03.?
ANDERSON?S ONLINE DOCUMENTATION
Ohio Revised Code § 2915.092
http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll/PORC/18a8e/1929d/192d8/19307?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm&q=raffle&x=Advanced&2.0
So, having read that, we can conclude beyond a shadow of a doubt that
raffles of the type you mentioned, for the purposes you mentioned,
unless you fit the description of one of the entities outlined in
Paragraph ?A? of Ohio Revised Code § 2915.092 (above), are indeed
*ILLEGAL* in Ohio. It is no defense that you intend to use the
proceeds (profit) for a noble or even an inarguably worthy cause (your
adoption fees, giving a needy child a good home, etc). If you are
arrested and convicted of conducting an illegal lottery you may face
potential fines and/or imprisonment, not to mention the fact that you
may in fact ruin your chances of adopting the child by virtue of your
newly acquired criminal record. It would seem that for this particular
game of chance, the stakes are clearly too high.
?You apparently don?t get it!?, you might say, ?What I am wanting to
do is hold a legitimate, good-faith ?contest?, not a raffle!?
Well, technically you would be wrong and here?s why:
You?ve heard the saying, ?A rose by any other name would smell as
sweet??? In other words, a raffle by any other name would be just as
illegal, and merely CALLING it a contest does not make it one. If you
were to allow contestants to write an essay and submit it for free for
a chance to win a prize, ?then? you would have a legal contest.
Because you are accepting entry fees and will award a prize to the
winner, you are holding a raffle, and that is illegal if done by a
private party for purposes of making profit. If, for example, you had
only five entrants and each one submitted an essay that was full of
gibberish, you would have to select a winner, presumably at random
since they were all nonsensical, resulting in a raffle. This is
admittedly a ridiculous scenario but in the end, no matter who wins,
the winner will collect the prize merely for ENTERING and paying the
fee for a chance to be selected (by whatever criteria) and not
necessarily for other reasons ? this makes your game a raffle and not
a contest.
Finally let me say that if you want absolute clarification about this
you should contact an attorney who is knowledgeable on the matter and
licensed to practice in the state of Ohio. Alternatively, since it
really isn?t a representative matter so much as it is a consumer issue
you can probably contact your local Prosecuting Attorney for a quick
and easy (and free) clarification and he or she will likely be happy
to assist you. What it will all boils down to is how the Prosecuting
Attorney?s Office ultimately views such raffles and contests since it
will be their responsibility to prosecute anyone found in violation of
the statute. The Ohio Attorney General?s Office may also be helpful in
the same manner.
OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL?S OFFICE
http://www.ag.state.oh.us/
Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro
State Office Tower 30 E. Broad Street 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-3428
(614) 466-4320
PROSECUTOR WEB SITE INDEX
http://www.co.eaton.mi.us/ecpa/PA-MWest.htm#OH
(Or contact your County Court Clerk to get contact information if your
Prosecutor is not listed in this list)
Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions
about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating
the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments
and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank
you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
ANDERSON?S ONLINE DOCUMENTATION
http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/oh/lpExt.dll?f=templates&fn=titlepage.htm
OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL?S OFFICE
http://www.ag.state.oh.us/
PROSECUTOR WEB SITE INDEX
http://www.co.eaton.mi.us/ecpa/PA-MWest.htm#OH
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINES USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
OHIO RAFFLE LAWS
OHIO GAMING LAWS
OHIO GAMBLING LAWS
OHIO CONTEST LAWS
OHIO DRAWING LAWS
OHIO LOTTERY LAWS |
Clarification of Answer by
tutuzdad-ga
on
28 Apr 2004 08:25 PDT
Needless to say, in all fairness to us, we can never know what
research someone has already done unless they tell us in advance. In
this case however, the published law provided does indeed address the
issue and is the most reliable guide for such a ?contest?. The fact
the Attorney General is not even sure how to define such a contest is
glaring proof that your case could in fact be a precedent setting case
and that you could be at risk for prosecution locally should your
county prosecutor decide to pursue it. As I said the issue depends on
how your ?prosecutor? views it since HE (or SHE) would be the one to
pursue an indictment if it came to that.
At any rate, published law is the most reliable source of information
about a question such as yours and that is what I provided. The fact
that the legal authorities in your area are undecided as to how to
interpret it is another matter altogether. Obviously we can?t do
anything about that, but in the meantime the Ohio state legislature
has decided in its infinite wisdom, and subsequently published for all
to see and adhere, that such an activity, as you described it, is
clearly illegal unless you are a non-profit entity or otherwise fit in
the category of entities mentioned in Paragraph ?A?.
If you continue your quest for answers you will inevitably find
"someone" who will agree with you. You may in fact even receive a
quiet promise from your local authorities that they will not prosecute
you if you decide go through with your plan (but doubtful). However,
even this promise to "look the other way", according to Ohio Revised
Code, will not make the activity legal ? which is specifically what
you asked about and precisely what I provided to you.
Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga
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