Thank you for your interest in conducting a bingo game or lottery to benefit your non-profit organization! We at the Rapid City Attorney’s Office hope to make your fund-raising quest successful and as painless as possible, and so we invite you to review the following information.
Raffles, bingo games, and lotteries are prohibited under SDCL 22-25, except to benefit certain charitable, community, or political groups. If your organization falls into one of these categories, and you wish to host a raffle, read on!
What Does the Rapid City Attorney’s Office Need from You?
1. A typed raffle request letter (preferably on the letterhead of the benefitting non-profit). Your letter should be submitted at least 30 days prior to the start date of your raffle and include the following:
- The name and mailing address of the benefitting non-profit organization.
- Your affiliation to the non-profit organization.
- The nature of the non-profit organization that allows the raffle to be approved.
- The venue(s), location(s) of ticket sales and drawing(s), as well as the means of sales (paper ticket sales, online, etc.).
- A description of the educational, charitable, patriotic, religious or other public-spirited uses for which the proceeds of any bingo game or raffle/lottery will be devoted.
- Date range of ticket sales, date of drawing, ticket cost, number of drawings, and how many tickets (approximately) you intend to sell.
- Itemized prize list and approximate value(s) of prize(s).
2. A signed and notarized Affidavit of Authorized Agent Concerning Bingo Game of Raffle.
3. If you are raffling firearms, your raffle request letter should include the licensed agency and/or point of contact for whom you intend to assist in the transfer of firearm(s) to the raffle winner(s).
4. If you are raffling alcoholic beverages, please be advised that a Special Event Uniform Alcoholic Beverage License may be required. A currently-licensed distributor may also be able to assist you in the transfer of alcoholic beverages to prize winner(s). Should your specific event require licensure, please allow additional processing time, as all special event alcoholic beverage license applications must be submitted to the City Finance Office for approval by the City Council.
Raffle request letters and attachments may be emailed, mailed, or delivered in person.
If you intend to also conduct the raffle outside of City limits or online, you may need additional approval from a county, other municipalities, or the Secretary of State's office. For more information about further approval for your raffle, please contact the other jurisdiction(s) where you wish to conduct the raffle, or access the Secretary of State's raffle request page.
Hosting an unauthorized lottery (which includes a raffle), exposes an individual to Class 2 misdemeanor criminal charges (SDCL 22-25-26). Please review RCMC 5.20 regarding the legalities surrounding bingo games and lotteries, and for a full list of organizations exempt from the general prohibition of gambling pursuant to SDCL 22-25-25(6).
Please don’t hesitate to contact our office with any questions and we will be happy to assist you.
Sincerely,
Office of the City Attorney
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605.394.4140
Information Packet - Raffles Bingo Games & Lotteries