House Raffle Questions: Can They Postpone the House Raffle Drawing?

I got a great house raffle question from a reader right at the end of 2008. I just found it in my SPAM folder (sorry!) and sent out my reply. I expect many people have the same question and concerns, so I’m posting both his question and my answer—

Question for House Raffle Secrets:

Date: December 31, 2008

Subject: edgewater house raffle

The subject raffle was originally to be held on September 27, 2008, extended to this day and as of this day it has been again postponed until January 23, 2008.

A ticket purchased the week of December 14, thru December 20 at the We Care and Friends was TICKET # xxxxxx making it the 21st ticket of what was to be one of 31,500 and now the owner’s have postponed again!, awaiting to sell approx 5,000 tickets to make sure they get their monies.

Does the MD [Maryland] Gaming Commission allow this so that the property owner can increase his/her profit?

House Raffle Secrets’ Answer:

Hi <name removed>,

So sorry for the delayed reply! Your message went straight to SPAM and I’ve only just now read it. I’ve fixed things so that won’t happen again.

What a great house raffle question. Here’s my take on it:

One thing I can tell you right off the bat is that the extensions are NOT so the property owner can increase their profit, and the delays aren’t set by the property owner, either. Based on what I’ve read, the property owner can’t touch a penny of the ticket proceeds. The money goes straight from the nonprofit to the closing table for purchasing the house.

The extra time to sell more tickets does, however, ensure that the house raffle makes enough money to: buy the house so it can be awarded as a prize, cover the costs (advertising, printing, labor, etc.) for holding the raffle, and leave the nonprofit who hosts the event with funds for their programs. It is a fundraising event, after all.

Reading at their site: http://www.fiftydollarhouse.com/ , We Care and Friends had the option to cancel the raffle, but are going forward requiring far fewer tickets than before. Also, their rules state that they could extend the raffle drawing date up to 120 days from the original date. They are at the end of their extensions, but still within the deadline set in their rules.

The delay is an inconvenience, for certain, but well within the rules stated for the raffle. But looking at the numbers, this works out well for you! The fewer tickets they sell, the better the odds that you’ll win.

About the ticket number you have…it may be the 10,021st ticket, not the 21st ticket. Also, I’ve read of house raffle hosts who pass out ticket numbers randomly, so your ticket number may or may not be a sign of the ticket sale progress.

Again, great question. If you still have concerns, feel free to email again, but also consider contacting the state. The laws for “real property” (house) raffles in Maryland are here: http://www.sos.state.md.us/Charity/Raffles.htm . The numbers for the charitable organizations division of the Secretary of State’s office is here: http://www.sos.state.md.us/Charity/Charityhome.htm

Hope this helps!
Crystal

House Raffle Secrets

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If you have any house raffle questions, feel free to send them to me and I’ll do my best with the answer. If you are wondering if house raffles are legal in your state, the answer to that question is here: House Raffles: Are They Legal In Your State?