Raffles and the Gambling Act

Common areas where Clubs and organisations can get into strife under the Gambling Act involve raffles. Make sure you comply with the law in all respects.

1.    Raffles without a licence can only be conducted by a Society or Charity.

2.    Raffles can only be conducted for charitable purposes.

3.    If your combined value of prizes is over $5000 in any raffle then you need a licence from the Department of Internal Affairs. The value is calculated on the full retail value, so donated or discounted goods are measured at their full value to establish if you are over the $5000 or not.

4.    On line/Remote sales of raffles is illegal, no matter what value the raffle is, as it is defined as remote interactive gambling. You cannot sell tickets by computer, on line, via Facebook, by telephone or other communication devices. You can advertise the raffle by those means, but sales must not be done on any communication device.

Alan Knowsley
Partner
Wellington, New Zealand

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