If you're an attorney, PF needs your help

[LittleLebowski]

We need legal advice on whether or not a raffle to benefit Todd's charity is considered gambling/"a game of chance"/etc and how to actually do this sans running afoul of the law.

[farscott]

I am not an attorney, but the gunsmith group "Louder than Words" ran many raffles of custom 1911 pistols and accouterments for several charities without running afoul of the law. I suggest contacting one of the organization's principals, Jason Burton, as Jason built that great 9x19 Commander for ToddG. I suspect Mr. Burton will have insight into what can be done based on what LTW accomplished.

[scjbash]

Another place to contact would be https://www.gunsforacause.org/. All they do is raffle guns for charity.

[Drang]

Paypal had issues with a gun being raffled at the Gun Blogger Rendezvous, Lucky Gunner stepped in (and up) to administer it. Bringing it up so you can be prepared, since that's the preferred method of doing commerce here.

[LOKNLOD]

Another place to contact would be https://www.gunsforacause.org/. All they do is raffle guns for charity.

I believe they raffled off a gun from Ballistic Radio recently, so those guys might be a contact point for checking out how well they worked from "raffler" side (if they even had anything to do with it directly). And I'm sure John would be down for anything helping out Rampage.

[backtrail540]

Another place to contact would be https://www.gunsforacause.org/. All they do is raffle guns for charity.

These guys are great. They hold a gun raffle every month. I've bought dealt with them/kara's hope for quite some time.

[LSP972]

Tom, you need legal advice from the state the raffle will be conducted in. I realize its open to anyone worldwide, but the jurisdiction where the funds are collected and eventually disbursed is who counts in terms of judging you. I suggest you contact the state police of wherever the venue is headquartered at; see if they have a Charitable Gaming Section. If so, THAT is the guys you want to talk to. Hopefully, the venue is not in New Jerseystan or any other firearm un-friendly state.

Understand that the rules, laws, etc. regarding this sort of thing varies widely from state to state. And other situations apply; for instance, church bingo games generally get a lot less scrutiny than Bubba trying to generate income for a Las Vegas trip. You're somewhere in between those two extremes, but unless the lawyer you speak with is VERY savvy on the topic, your best source of info is going to be the law enforcement agency charged with regulating such charity functions. In Louisiana, it used to the State Police; political shenanigans some years back saw it transferred to the state department of revenue.

In any event, you need to find out who handles these things in your state (or wherever the raffle is based out of) and talk to them.

.

[Kukuforguns]

Tom, you need legal advice from the state the raffle will be conducted in. I realize its open to anyone worldwide, but the jurisdiction where the funds are collected and eventually disbursed is who counts in terms of judging you. I suggest you contact the state police of wherever the venue is headquartered at; see if they have a Charitable Gaming Section. If so, THAT is the guys you want to talk to. Hopefully, the venue is not in New Jerseystan or any other firearm un-friendly state.

Understand that the rules, laws, etc. regarding this sort of thing varies widely from state to state. And other situations apply; for instance, church bingo games generally get a lot less scrutiny than Bubba trying to generate income for a Las Vegas trip. You're somewhere in between those two extremes, but unless the lawyer you speak with is VERY savvy on the topic, your best source of info is going to be the law enforcement agency charged with regulating such charity functions. In Louisiana, it used to the State Police; political shenanigans some years back saw it transferred to the state department of revenue.

In any event, you need to find out who handles these things in your state (or wherever the raffle is based out of) and talk to them.

.

Yeah, so I am an attorney. I do not practice in this area. If your state police have a charitable gaming section, that is probably a great first step. I would trust their opinion over mine until I spent a lot of time getting to know an unfamiliar body of law in an unfamiliar state. On top of which, I would be giving legal advice in a state where I likely am not licensed to practice. Which is something that your state bar would probably find objectionable. Given the distributed nature of the internet, you may have several potential jurisdictions to hold the raffle. I think you should first identify which jurisdictions are possibilities and then post the names of the jurisdictions. Attorneys likely will be more willing to assist in their own state.

[FNFAN]

Typically, the Attorney General's office for the state the raffle is held in would have the appropriate info.

[TR675]

LSP972, Kuku and FNFAN sound right on the money to me.

[Erik]

Yeah, so I am an attorney. I do not practice in this area. If your state police have a charitable gaming section, that is probably a great first step. I would trust their opinion over mine until I spent a lot of time getting to know an unfamiliar body of law in an unfamiliar state. On top of which, I would be giving legal advice in a state where I likely am not licensed to practice. Which is something that your state bar would probably find objectionable. Given the distributed nature of the internet, you may have several potential jurisdictions to hold the raffle. I think you should first identify which jurisdictions are possibilities and then post the names of the jurisdictions. Attorneys likely will be more willing to assist in their own state.

All of what he said.