Background: Washington's Gambling Act authorizes charitable and nonprofit organizations to raise funds for the organizations' stated purposes. A raffle may be conducted as a licensed or unlicensed raffle. A license from the Washington State Gambling Commission (Commission) is required if:

the gross revenue from all gambling fundraising conducted by the organization is $5,000 or more;
tickets are sold by someone outside the organization;
tickets are sold at a discount; or
firearms are awarded as prizes.

The maximum price of a raffle ticket is $100. In addition to the license, approval from the Commission is required if the retail value of a prize is $40,000 or more, or the total value of all raffle prizes offered in a year exceeds $300,000.

In 2013, the Legislature authorized bona fide charitable and nonprofit organizations that serve individuals with intellectual disabilities to conduct enhanced raffles until June 2017. The Commission may approve four enhanced raffles per year, two in western Washington and two in eastern Washington. An enhanced raffle is a game in which a grand prize and smaller prizes are awarded on the basis of raffle ticket drawings. Enhanced raffles are subject to the following conditions:

the cap on the individual ticket price is $250 per ticket;
the value of the grand prize is capped at $5 million;
ticket sales may be in person or by mail, fax, or telephone;
multiple ticket packages may be purchased at a discount;
multiple smaller prizes are authorized, including early bird, refer a friend, and multiple ticket drawings;
for noncash prizes, the organization must demonstrate that such a prize is available and that sufficient funds are available to purchase the noncash prize; and
raffles must be independently audited.

The Commission is required to report to the Legislature by December 2016 on the results of the enhanced raffles, the revenue generated by the raffles, and any regulatory actions in relation to enhanced raffles.

Senate	47	2
House	97	0