An Act To Allow Cash Prizes for Certain Raffles Conducted by Charitable Organizations
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §1837-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. KKKKK, §25, is amended to read:
4. Raffle with a noncash prize up to $75,000 conducted by eligible organization; cash prizes up to $20,000. An eligible organization as described in section 1832, subsection 2 may conduct a raffle in which the total value of the prize offered to the winning chance does not exceed $75,000 upon the acceptance of a registration by the Gambling Control Unit. The registration must state a verifiable charitable purpose for which the proceeds of the raffle are dedicated to benefit. If the raffle is conducted in a manner in which there are multiple winning chances, the total value of all prizes offered may not exceed a value of $75,000. A noncash prize for a raffle conducted under this subsection may not be in the form of cash and may not be exchanged for cash. The total amount of cash prizes that may be awarded for a raffle conducted under this subsection may not exceed $20,000 with no more than one $10,000 prize for the holder of a winning chance. An eligible organization may not conduct more than one raffle under this subsection in a 12-month period.
summary
Current law allows an eligible organization that has registered with the Gambling Control Unit within the Department of Public Safety to conduct one raffle in a 12-month period awarding noncash prizes, up to $75,000 in value. This bill allows that raffle to include total cash prizes not exceeding $20,000 with no more than one $10,000 prize for the holder of a winning chance.