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Can You Hold A Raffle To Sell Your Home In Georgia?

This is an answer that I found on a forum that sums it up best. I verified this information as well as I knew the answer from being a licensed auctioneer.

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question. Let’s begin by talking about the raffle and lottery laws in Georgia: What is a raffle in the State of Georgia? “'Raffle' means any scheme or procedure whereby one or more prizes are distributed by chance among persons who have paid or promised consideration for a chance to win such prize. Such term shall also include door prizes which are awarded to persons attending meetings or activities provided that the cost of admission to such meetings or activities does not exceed the usual cost of similar activities where such prizes are not awarded.” GEORGIA STATE CODE 16-12-22.3 By definition, the State of Georgia considers a raffle and a lottery to be one and the same under most conditions: “'Lottery' means any scheme or procedure whereby one or more prizes are distributed by chance among persons who have paid or promised consideration for a chance to win such prize, whether such scheme or procedure is called a pool, lottery, raffle, gift, gift enterprise, sale, policy game, or by some other name…” GEORGIA STATE ASSEMBLY UNANNOTATED CODE 16-12-20 Who can legally operate a raffle in the State of Georgia? “It is the intention of the General Assembly that only nonprofit, tax-exempt churches, schools, civic organizations, or related support groups; nonprofit organizations qualified under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended; or bona fide nonprofit organizations approved by the sheriff, which are properly licensed pursuant to this Code section shall be allowed to operate raffles.” GEORGIA STATE CODE 16-12-22.1(a) Where can raffles be legally operated (assuming the legal criteria is met)? “Raffles shall be operated only on premises owned by the nonprofit, tax-exempt organization operating the raffle, on property leased by the nonprofit, tax-exempt organization and used regularly by that organization for purposes other than the operation of a raffle, or on property leased by the nonprofit, tax-exempt organization operating the raffle from another nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.” GEORGIA STATE CODE 16-12-22.4(h) What are the penalties? “Any person who violates any other provision of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. Any person who commits any such violation after having previously been convicted of any violations of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years or by a fine not to exceed $10,000.00, or both.” GEORGIA STATE CODE 16-12-22.2(m) The quotes from above and indeed the entire statute related to raffles in the state of Georgia can be found here: GEORGIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY GEORGIA STATE CODE CODE SECTION 16-12-22.1. http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=16-12-22.1 Assuming you have read the raffle statute in it’s entirety, regardless of what other might have done, you now know that such a raffle of one’s home in the State of Georgia would be illegal unless you apply for and receive (in advance) a non-profit exemption, a license from the Sheriff of the county in which the raffle would be held, meet the clerical, accounting and tax requirements and meet all the other mind boggling requirements of the statute. Alternatively, should you choose to call your “game of chance” a lottery rather than a raffle, the stakes are even higher since it is not only against the law to hold a private lottery but to print receipts, tickets, empower an outside agency to assist or even advertise one: GEORGIA STATE CODE CODE SECTION 16-12-26 http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=16-12-26 GEORGIA STATE CODE CODE SECTION 16-12-27 http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=16-12-27 Not to mention the fact that every single person who purchased a ticket (chance) in an illegal lottery can be summoned to testify AGAINST the lottery operator: GEORGIA STATE CODE CODE SECTION 16-12-29 http://www.legis.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/gl_codes_detail.pl?code=16-12-29 As for your questions then, let’s address each one individually: “Do I need to ask an attorney who specializes in real estate?” Not if you sell your home in the conventional way. If you plan to hold a raffle to dispose of the home I’d most assuredly suggest you contact an attorney before taking that step. “Is this legal in Georgia?” No. Not if the raffle is a “for-profit” enterprise. “What are the rules or laws surrounding a raffle in this state?” Refer to the detailed explanation above to see the laws concerning reffles in the State of Georgia. “Can they be applied to selling a house?” The laws can indeed be applied in favor of the raffle of a house if the raffle is a non-profit enterprise and all other requirements are met. Conversely, the laws can be used against you if the legal criteria set forth in the statutes is not met and the non-profit status has not been granted. I'd like to go on and on and expound on this issue but frankly the law speaks for itself. There really isn't much more one can say than what the statutes themsmelves already address. Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us. Best regards; Tutuzdad-ga INFORMATION SOURCES Defined above SEARCH STRATEGY SEARCH ENGINE USED: Google ://www.google.com SEARCH TERMS USED: Lottery, raffle Georgia, statutes, laws, requirements, General Assembly