Oregon Raffles Quick Guide for Volunteers
State of Oregon Raffle Laws and American Cancer Society Policies
The American Cancer Society, Inc. is fully committed to conducting our raffle events to follow all
applicable city, state, and federal rules and Society policies and best practices. As our raffle activity in the
state has increased, so have the rules and reporting requirements.
Please contact your staff partner if you have any questions about conducting raffles on behalf of the
American Cancer Society.
Raffle defined – three necessary components of a raffle
 A ticket purchased or consideration or personal value given.
 Random winner selection- all have equal chance of winning.
 A prize is awarded.
Risk – Conducting raffles creates legal, financial, and reputation risk and exposure .The American
Cancer Society and our volunteers must follow all rules, supervise all raffle activities, maintain detailed
records, track expenses, submit appropriate tax withholdings and forms, and pay taxes on ticket sales as
appropriate. Please help us protect our most valuable asset – our reputation!
Raffle Rules
General conduct
 You must conduct your raffle as a representative of the American Cancer Society because only
licensed, exempt organizations can be licensed to conduct raffles.
 You must work closely with your staff partner to ensure compliance with all rules.
 You must maintain records and provide them to your staff partner for reporting raffle income and
records to the state and winner taxes to IRS.
Advertising
 No online promotions (or sales) are allowed.
 Radio and television promotion only within local area (not across state lines).
Participants
 No one under 18 years of age can purchase tickets; minors can sell tickets if the activity is closely
supervised by an adult.
 ACS staff and their immediate family and volunteers involved in the raffle may not participate.
Tickets and Ticket Sales
 Payment by cash, debit card, and all types of checks. No credit cards purchases allowed.
 You can use theater style tickets and provide ticket information to each purchaser or pre-printed
tickets (using our ticket template provided in raffle resource packet).
 Ticket (or handouts provided with theater ticket) must have:
o Date, time, and location of the drawing
o American Cancer Society
o Price of the chance
o FMV of each prize to be awarded
o A full and fair description of the prize
o A statement about the taxes being the responsibility of the winner
o Potential number of tickets offered for sale
o Tickets should not contain the words “suggested donation” or “no purchase required”
 Tickets must be sequentially numbered.
 Stub and ticket should have matching sequence number.
 Stub should have purchaser’s name, complete address, phone number and other information to
notify winner.
 Tickets must be priced consistently. No discount plans allowed.
 There are no free tickets.
We sincerely appreciate all the time and resources you put into planning and conducting your team
fundraising activities to support the important work of the American Cancer Society.
Oregon Raffles Quick Guide for Volunteers
State of Oregon Raffle Laws and American Cancer Society Policies
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No mailing of tickets or payments or online sales; only face to face sales.
We cannot compensate others to sell tickets on our behalf.
Sellers must return all stubs and unsold tickets.
We must account for all raffle tickets using a raffle ticket distribution log. (This form is included in
your raffle resource packet)
Drawing
 Winners should be determined as advertised (where/when/how).
 Your raffle winner should be selected by random drawing of a winner from a receptacle.
 Winners do not need to be present to win.
 License and house rules should be posted where winners are selected.
Prizes
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Must be 100% donated.
Must be fully owned at the time of the raffle.
Can be cash (under $2,500), merchandise, or gift certificates for merchandise or services.
Over $599 require additional reporting, appraisals, and may require taxes being collected.
All prizes must be aligned with the American Cancer Society’s mission – no animals, firearms or
weapons, tobacco products, or tanning services or products.
If there are any limitations on a prize, make sure it is clearly communicated. (e.g., are there
blackout or expiration dates; is airfare included, etc.)
We must ensure the prizes are awarded.
Prizes are not transferable until after awarded.
Winners
 Winners of prizes that have a fair market value of $100 or greater must complete the Oregon
Raffle Winners Register
Day of Raffle Checklist
 Rules of the Game Sign
 License
 Prizes, prize inventory form, and receptacle to draw from
 Sold and unsold tickets and raffle ticket log
 Prize list with description and value of each prize
 Other raffle records for Department of Justice onsite inspections (donor acknowledgement,
receipts for expenses, etc.)
 IRS W-9 Forms and Oregon Winners Register
 Oregon Raffle Summary form to give to your staff partner.
We sincerely appreciate all the time and resources you put into planning and conducting your team
fundraising activities to support the important work of the American Cancer Society.