California’s Proposition 17 would legalize raffles for nonprofits

Jennifer Coleman

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2000 | 9:44 a.m.

SACRAMENTO - Sell a raffle ticket to raise money for a good cause and risk going to jail, say supporters of a ballot measure that would legalize raffles and lotteries by nonprofit groups.

"Nobody knows it's a crime," said John Sarsfield, a deputy district attorney in Monterey County.

But Sarsfield knows - he's had to warn several church and charitable groups that they were breaking the law while trying to raise money for good causes by raffling off small prizes.

"As sad as that is, it's a crime. We don't want to have to prosecute these people," he said.

Proposition 17 on the March 7 ballot would change that and would allow nonprofit organizations to conduct raffles, as long as 90 percent of the proceeds went toward the cause.

Laws banning raffles go back 120 years, Sarsfield said. "At that time, raffles and gambling were a problem in California. In the early version of the state Constitution they made it illegal to conduct gambling of any sort, but specifically lotteries. Raffles are a form of lotteries," he said.

The result is that anyone who sells tickets to raffle off a bicycle, a cruise, a radio or any other prize given away to one lucky winner, is guilty of a misdemeanor and could face six months in jail or a fine, Sarsfield said.

"Raffles as we know them in California are not legal. We want to allow good citizens to do good deeds in these types of activities. And at the same time not put law enforcement agencies in a position of either looking the other way or shutting down the raffle, which has happened," said Sen. Bruce McPherson, R-Santa Cruz, who authored the bill that led to Prop 17.

But opponents to the measure say that's not true - raffles are legal under the law if they're conducted correctly, so a new law isn't needed.

"If someone asks for a free ticket, they have to give them one. It's that simple," said Art Croney, director of the Committee on Moral Concerns. "Most raffle fundraisers usually say on the ticket 'no purchase necessary.' And that's fine and they've been legal that way for decades."

Croney says the way raffles are structured now is "self-policing."

"If there's a phony charity running a raffle, people can just ask for a free ticket and run the phony charity out of town," he said.

Passing Prop 17 would open the floodgates of phony charities conducting scurrilous raffles, he said.

"Raffles are a different type of gambling. If you want to play cards, you have to go to a cardhouse. If you want to play slots, you have to go to a casino. But raffles will be in the malls, on the phone, in the mailbox," Croney said.

Sarsfield said the law is clear: raffles are illegal.

"When local law enforcement find out about these raffles, they either have to look the other way or they have to go in and shut it down," he said. "Understandably, there's a reluctance by police to shut down the Boys and Girls Club."