“Would you like to buy a raffle ticket?”
That question is a mainstay of our community to help out local charities, those who are having health problems and local sports teams.
Raffles are a common way that friends and neighbors often help those in need.
However, a license is needed to legally conduct a raffle.
“We’ve had a rash of folks in the last month selling raffle tickets without being properly licensed,” says Sheriff Ramsey Bennett.
Sheriff Bennett says the raffle license issue has come to the forefront lately when someone came up to the Sheriff’s Office asking if anyone wanted to buy raffle tickets— and that raffle was not licensed.
Any person or organization wanting to hold a raffle is required by law to submit an application to the Office of the Sheriff,
ever holding the raffle.
Bennett said obtaining a license is easy.
Local charities, sports teams and those doing fundraisers are encouraged to check the law and the requirements.
“I encourage everyone to review the raffle law to see if their organization qualifies to conduct a raffle, and check the requirements for your organization once your license is approved,” he said.
That is exactly what family and friends of Becca Mansfield have done.
Mansfield is a young mother of two suffering from stage 4 melanoma cancer. A gun raffle is being held to help with the cost of her care and medical supplies.
She was diagnosed in December, 2024. According to a spokesperson for Mansfield the cancer has spread into her lungs, spleen, abdomen and lymph nodes. She also has a mass on her spine which has left her unable to walk.
A bedridden Mansfield has undergone several treatments, including radiation on her brain. She is currently undergoing immunotherapy treatments.
Tickets for the raffle can be purchased at Red Line Liquidators or by contacting Chris Thomas at (386) 4789994. Tickets are $25 each or 5 tickets for $100. The winner will have the choice of one of four types of guns; a Tikka TX3 (any caliber), Browning X Bolt 6.5 (Creedmoor), Bergara B-14 (Wilderness Ridge 6.5) or a Bergara B-14 (stoke any caliber). The drawing will be held at Jot ‘em Down in Blackshear 5 p.m. Wednesday, October 1.
“Thank you to my family and friends and Mr. Chris and Mrs. Donna Thomas and to everyone that has donated, bought supplies and prayed for me through all of this,” said Mansfield.
Organizers of the raffle acknowledged that the correct steps were taken for the Mansfield raffle.
Georgia law defines a raffle as “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”.
So what happens if one does not apply for a license ?
Operating a raffle without a valid license issued by the sheriff commits the offense of “commercial gambling” as defined in Georgia Code Section 16-12-22. If convicted, punishment is one to five years of jail time, a fine of $20,000 or possibly both.
Even if you aren’t the organizer of the raffle, you can get in trouble just for helping run it, which is “a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature” according to Georgia Code. The penalties for aiding and abetting unlicensed raffles start small, but repeat offenders graduate to felony status with a minimum of one year in jail, fines of up to $10,000 or both.
Only non-profit, taxexempt churches, schools, civic organizations or related support groups and nonprofit organizations qualified under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code or bonafide nonprofit organizations approved by the sheriff, are allowed to operate raffles.
“If you’re holding a raffle in Pierce County and selling tickets without a license you are guilty of commercial gambling,” says Bennett, reminding the public that ignorance of the law is no excuse.
For any questions pertaining to conducting raffles in Pierce County, please call the Sheriff’s office at 912-449-2011.
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