State gaming notes: raffles, 50/50s, bingo, and casino nights

Games of chance are the riskiest part of a fundraiser. A guest pays for a chance to win a prize. Every state decides whether a charity may do that, who licenses it, and what the limits are. The answer can differ by county or city.

This page covers casino and poker nights, raffles and 50/50s, bingo, reverse raffles, and similar games (meat raffles, quilt raffles, themed-basket raffles, online raffles). It is not for bake sales, dinners, auctions without a game of chance, or other events. Those playbooks carry the "Before you start" box only.

How to use this page

• Every RaiseSpace gaming playbook starts with a "Before you start" box. Do that first: call the office that licenses charitable gaming where you are.
• The state notes below are examples from official sources. They show the kind of rule you are asking about. They do not cover your state unless your state is listed, and even then the rules can change.
• Quotes are copied from the source. The date we last checked each source is shown. UNVERIFIED means we could not confirm the point in an official source.
• This page is a planning aid, not legal or tax advice. If the answer from your licensing office conflicts with this page, follow the office and write down who you asked and when.

Last checked: October 22, 2026.

Casino and poker nights

Some states don't allow charity casino nights at all. Others allow them only with a permit, only certain games, or only with no prizes from play. The default format in our Casino Night playbook (a paid ticket, chips, and prizes won with chips) is illegal in at least the states below.

⚠ Pennsylvania: casino nights are listed as illegal gambling

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue lists "Monte Carlo/casino/poker nights (outside of authorized casinos)" as an example of illegal gambling in its Small Games of Chance guidance. The PA State Police (Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement) lists "Casino Nights" and "Texas Hold'em Tournaments" as unlawful too. A small games of chance license from your county treasurer covers raffles, 50/50s, pull-tabs, and similar games. It does not cover casino tables. A letter from the hall and an insurance certificate do not make it legal either.

Why: PA counts something as gambling when a guest pays (a ticket, buy-in, or rebuy) for a chance (cards, dice, wheel) to win a prize of any value, including merchandise. PA's gambling-device law (18 Pa.C.S. § 5513) can also reach the people who set up the tables and the owner of the hall.

What to do if you are in PA:

• Do not run the Casino Night playbook as written.
• Do not look for a "play money" workaround on your own. We did not find any PA agency guidance that approves a free-play or no-prize casino night (UNVERIFIED either way). Ask a Pennsylvania attorney first.
• Need a licensed game instead? Look at our raffle, 50/50, or themed-basket playbooks. Get your license from your county treasurer.

Sources: PA Dept. of Revenue, "Basic Guidance on What is Legal Versus Illegal" (checked Oct 22, 2026): https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/small-games-of-chance/club-licensees-and-eligible-organizations · 18 Pa.C.S. § 5513: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=18&div=0&chpt=55&sctn=13&subsctn=0&iFrame=true · PA State Police BLCE, Small Games of Chance presentation (undated; reflects the law through 2013): https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/psp/documents/lce/SGOC%20-%20Public-%20Eligable%20Organizations-clubs.pdf

⚠ Texas: no nonprofit exception for casino or poker nights

The Texas Attorney General's office says: "Unlike raffles and bingo, there is NO exception to the gambling law in Texas for nonprofits to hold poker or casino night fundraising events. The gambling law, Chapter 47 of the Penal Code, applies to nonprofits and to for-profits equally." Do not treat a hall letter as permission.

Source: Texas Office of the Attorney General, Charitable Raffles and Casino/Poker Nights (checked Oct 22, 2026): https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/divisions/charitable-trusts/charitable-raffles-and-casinopoker-nights

⚠ Wisconsin: traditional casino nights are listed as illegal

The Wisconsin Division of Gaming raffle FAQ (marked revised 9/24/14, still the PDF on the state site) says: "Traditional Casino or Las Vegas nights are illegal because they include the elements of prize, chance, and consideration. If the participants must make a payment or donation in order to gamble with play money, and then win cash or prizes, use the play money at the end of the evening to bid on prizes, or to purchase raffle tickets to place in drawings, the activities constitute illegal lotteries under Wisconsin law."

Source (checked Oct 22, 2026): https://charitable.wi.gov/Content/PDF/Raffle%20Frequently%20Asked%20Questions.pdf

⚠ Colorado: a paid casino night cannot award prizes from the games

The Colorado Division of Gaming (charity guidance dated May 2014, on the current Department of Revenue page) says: "Because a charity event typically seeks to raise money, the only way to hold a casino night where participants pay or donate money, is to hold the casino games for entertainment value only. In other words, there can be NO cash or other prizes awarded as a result of the games played."

Source: Colorado Department of Revenue, Specialized Business Group, "What is Legal?" (checked Oct 22, 2026): https://sbg.colorado.gov/what-is-legal-gambling-questions-in-colorado

⚠ Montana: permit required; blackjack, roulette, and craps are not legal games

The Montana Department of Justice FAQ says: "Only nonprofit organizations that have obtained a permit may offer a Casino Night." It also says: "BLACKJACK, ROULETTE AND CRAPS ARE NOT LEGAL GAMES IN MONTANA." Do not set blackjack, roulette, or craps on a Montana night.

Source: Montana Department of Justice FAQ (2026 PDF, checked Oct 22, 2026): https://dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/FAQs-2.2026.pdf

Not listed? We have not checked casino-night rules in other states. Ask your state gaming or charitable-gaming office before you book a hall or sell a ticket.

Raffles, 50/50s, and similar games: Pennsylvania example

This applies to 50/50s, meat raffles, quilt raffles, themed-basket raffles, reverse raffles, and online raffles in Pennsylvania. We have not checked raffle rules in other states.

Pennsylvania: raffles and 50/50s

In Pennsylvania the licensing office is your county treasurer (where there is no county treasurer, the county's designee), not the town clerk. Confirm the rules there before you sell a ticket. The Department of Revenue's guide says an eligible organization must have been in existence for one year before it applies for a license.

Prize caps: no more than $2,000 for a single chance, no more than $35,000 in prizes in a seven-day week, and no more than $15,000 in raffle prizes in a calendar month. A bigger raffle needs a special permit from the treasurer.

Age: no one under 18 may operate or play.

Advertising: it is unlawful to advertise the prizes or their dollar value. Prizes may be identified on the raffle tickets. Ask the treasurer what you may put on flyers and social posts.

Sources: PA Dept. of Revenue, Small Games of Chance (checked Oct 22, 2026): https://www.pa.gov/agencies/revenue/resources/tax-types-and-information/small-games-of-chance/club-licensees-and-eligible-organizations · Local Option Small Games of Chance Act (Act 156 of 1988) §§ 302, 701, and 704: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?act=156&chpt=3&iFrame=true&sessInd=0&smthLwInd=0&txtType=HTM&yr=1988 and https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?act=156&chpt=7&iFrame=true&sessInd=0&smthLwInd=0&txtType=HTM&yr=1988 · PA Dept. of Revenue, Small Games of Chance guide REV-1750 (03-26): https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/revenue/documents/formsandpublications/formsforbusinesses/sgoc/documents/rev-1750.pdf

Pennsylvania notes by game type

• 50/50 pot cap. A 50/50 winner's share is one prize. Pennsylvania caps that prize at $2,000, about a $4,000 pot. Do not plan a Pennsylvania pot bigger than that. A special permit, where the county treasurer offers one, is written for raffles. Ask before you assume it covers a 50/50.
• 50/50 arm-length packs. Pennsylvania State Police materials (labeled "Proposed Guidelines") say to sell 50/50 tickets individually, not in arm-length packs. Ask the treasurer before you sell packs in Pennsylvania.
• Online and electronic sales. Expect no. Section 103 says no game of chance "shall be played by or with the assistance of any mechanical or electrical devices or media other than a dispensing machine or passive selection device." Ask your county treasurer. If they say internet sales are forbidden, do not run the event. Statute: https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?act=156&chpt=1&iFrame=true&sessInd=0&smthLwInd=0&txtType=HTM&yr=1988
• Themed-basket raffles. Pennsylvania authorizes this format as a raffle auction (basket raffles). Alcohol as a raffle prize: UNVERIFIED. Ask the county treasurer before you put alcohol in a basket.
• Reverse raffles. Buybacks and consolation pulls are not addressed in the Pennsylvania guidance we used. Keep the playbook default: no, unless your county treasurer says yes in writing.
• Paddle auctions. The PA State Police presentation lists "Paddle Auctions" as unlawful. Bidding paddles at an ordinary live auction of donated items are a different thing. Ask the treasurer before you add a wine pull or any other "pay for a chance at a prize" game to a gala.

Bingo: Pennsylvania example

Pennsylvania: bingo has its own license

A small-games-of-chance license does not cover bingo. The licensing office is your county treasurer (or the county's designee where there is no treasurer). The association must have existed for two years before it applies, with only the narrow exceptions in the Bingo Law.

Prize caps: no more than $500 for any one game, no more than $4,000 for one jackpot game, and no more than $8,000 in prizes in a calendar day.

Age: no one under 18 may play unless accompanied by an adult.

The statute sets the license fee at $100 a year ($50 for qualifying senior groups; $15 for one period of three or fewer consecutive days a year). Confirm the current fee and the form with the treasurer before you sell a card. Licensed bingo associations may advertise prizes and their dollar values. Ask the treasurer before you add a raffle, which follows the separate small-games rules.

Source: Pennsylvania Bingo Law, Act of July 10, 1981, P.L. 214, No. 67 (checked Oct 22, 2026): https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?act=67&chpt=0&iFrame=true&sessInd=0&smthLwInd=0&txtType=HTM&yr=1981

We have not checked bingo rules in other states.

What we could not verify

These points are UNVERIFIED. Ask your licensing office and write down the answer.

• How far Pennsylvania's ban on advertising prizes reaches into social posts, email, and flyers.
• Whether Pennsylvania allows any online raffle sales beyond what Section 103 says.
• Whether alcohol may be a raffle prize in Pennsylvania.
• The PA State Police presentation is undated, and its 50/50 items are labeled "Proposed Guidelines."
• The exact dollar point at which a Pennsylvania raffle needs a special permit. Sources we read differ, so confirm it with the treasurer.
• Whether any Pennsylvania agency approves a free-play (no-prize) casino night. We found none.

Questions to ask your licensing office

• Is this game allowed for our organization here? Which license or permit covers it, and how long does it take?
• Who may sell, play, and run it (ages, members only, volunteers only)?
• Are there prize, ticket-price, or jackpot caps? Per game, per day, per month?
• What may we put on flyers, social posts, and email?
• May we sell online or take card payments for chances?
• What records and reports are due after the event, and by when?

Write down the office, the person, the date, and the answer. Keep it with your event folder.

This page is a planning aid, not legal or tax advice. Laws change, and enforcement is up to state and local authorities. Last checked: October 22, 2026.