Washington Nonprofit Raffle Rules: Ordinary, Enhanced, and Alcohol Raffles

Eligibility comes before licensing

Before any raffle question — licensed or not — Washington gambling law requires the organization itself to qualify. A bona fide charitable or nonprofit organization must have been organized and continuously operating for at least 12 calendar months immediately before applying for a raffle license or conducting an authorized unlicensed raffle, and its articles, bylaws, or governing structure must state that it operates only for one or more purposes permitted under Washington gambling law.

This eligibility rule is deliberately separate from raffle licensing itself, and separate from incorporation or federal tax status: the Gambling Commission’s own guidance specifically notes that some groups do not qualify for raffle authority even with federal § 501(c) status. A brand-new 501(c)(3), however well-organized, simply cannot lawfully run a raffle in its first year in Washington.

Ordinary raffles: unlicensed limits, ticket sales, and licensing when you exceed them

An eligible organization may run an unlicensed public raffle only while staying within specific limits: no more than two public raffle events per calendar year, and combined gross public-raffle receipts of $5,000 or less per calendar year, with at least five days’ notice to local police and records retained for one year. A separate members-only unlicensed category uses its own $5,000 combined annual limit and additional conditions.

Ticket sales for ordinary raffles cannot happen over the internet — Washington Gambling Commission guidance states this directly — but cash, check, or credit-card payment is permitted when the raffle otherwise complies, and the ordinary ticket price is capped at $100.

Once an organization exceeds the unlicensed limits, or wants to use licensed-only features (a firearm prize is one example that specifically requires licensed-raffle treatment), it needs a Gambling Commission raffle license. The current fee is $70 plus 3.583% of gross gambling receipts, capped at $3,200 annually — and the license does not replace the 12-month eligibility requirement described above.

Enhanced raffles are their own separate track

Enhanced raffles are not a bigger version of an ordinary raffle — they are a distinct authorization with their own technology, drawing, ticket, and security requirements. Current Gambling Commission guidance permits a grand prize up to $10,000,000 and a ticket price up to $250, sold through specific authorized channels (in person, mail, fax, and telephone) rather than the sales methods an ordinary raffle might use.

The fee schedule reflects the larger scale: $5,500 plus 0.456% of gross gambling receipts, capped at $51,200 annually. An organization cannot informally treat an ordinary raffle license as covering enhanced-raffle activity, or vice versa.

Alcohol prizes require a separate members-only permit from a different agency

If a raffle will award alcohol as a prize, that is governed by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, not the Gambling Commission — and it uses an entirely separate framework. The Alcohol Raffle Permit restricts both ticket sales and prize eligibility to the organization’s own members only; it never authorizes public ticket sales, and it does not replace the underlying Gambling Commission raffle eligibility or licensing requirements described above.

The permit costs $15 for a one-time single-event authorization or $37.50 for an annual permit, and the organization may not sell more than $5,000 of raffle tickets in a calendar year under this permit. Tickets cannot be sold to, and alcohol prizes cannot be supplied to, anyone under 21. The application must be submitted at least 30 days before ticket sales begin.

A Special Occasion License (for selling alcohol at a public event) and a Banquet Permit (for a private no-sale event) are two more, entirely different LCB authorizations that also must not be confused with the Alcohol Raffle Permit — none of the three substitutes for either of the others.

Keeping the categories straight

The practical risk in Washington charitable gaming is not usually ignorance of any one rule — it is treating one authorization as if it covers a different activity. A licensed ordinary-raffle permit does not authorize enhanced-raffle prize levels; an enhanced-raffle authorization does not itself authorize alcohol prizes; and an Alcohol Raffle Permit does not authorize public ticket sales or substitute for the underlying Gambling Commission eligibility and licensing requirements.

Bingo, casino-style fundraising events, and amusement games are separate charitable-gaming categories again, each with its own Gambling Commission license and fee formula — they are documented in the full Washington guide but are outside the raffle-specific scope of this explainer.