Legal Question in Entertainment Law in Florida

Raffle

In the state of Florida, a 501c3 non-profit is allowed to throw a raffle to raise funds. Can I form a marketing company that throws raffles for non-profits and I receive a percentage of the earnings? So, essentially the non-profit is throwing the raffle and I am being contracted to throw the raffle and being compensated by receiving a percentage of the earnings. Is this legal?


Asked on 2/25/08, 9:40 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Brent Rose The Orsini & Rose Law Firm

Re: Raffle

I don't think there is any appellate case law on it, but since Chapter 849 provides an exception to the lottery statute for non-profit raffles, I don't see how your proposal would violate the statute. The charge would be accessory to gambling or lottery, but since no gambling or lottery is occurring, I don't see how there could be a criminal offense.

To be safe, you should get a criminal lawyer to assist you in getting an attorney general's opinion. Though these opinions don't provide you with an absolute "get out of jail free" card, you could feel pretty confident in what you are doing if you had one of these opinions.

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Answered on 2/25/08, 10:01 am


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