What does the rule say?
Two layers. The regulation names internet raffle platforms specifically, and the Commission prints it as a reminder on the online application itself.
"Software, platforms, and electronic equipment. Any supplier of software, platforms or electronic equipment designed to enable an authorized organization to conduct an internet or mobile raffle pursuant to paragraph (7) of this subdivision shall apply for a license as a games of chance supplier pursuant to General Municipal Law section 189-a and Part 4623 of this subchapter. (See 9 NYCRR § (b)(8))"
Internet/Mobile Raffle Ticket Sales Application (Rev. 9/2024), Important Reminders, quoting 9 NYCRR § 4620.22(b)(8)Underneath it sits the general supplier statute, which has governed bingo and games of chance equipment for decades and now covers the software that sells raffle tickets.
"No person, firm, partnership, corporation or organization, shall sell or distribute supplies or equipment specifically designed or adapted for use in conduct of games of chance without having first obtained a license therefor upon written application made, verified and filed with the board in the form prescribed by the rules and regulations of the board."
General Municipal Law § 189-aWhat counts as a licensed supplier?
A business the Commission has licensed, on its supplier forms, after a review of the company and the people behind it. The statute requires fingerprints of the applicant's officers and owners, an annual license, and a fee based on the supplier's gross sales to New York organizations. The Commission publishes the list of current licensees on its website, each with a license number.
"Any person, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or other business entity seeking to manufacture, sell or distribute games of chance and/or bingo supplies, devices, or equipment to any organization licensed to conduct games of chance and/or bingo, licensed games of chance and/or bingo supplier, or licensed authorized games of chance and/or bingo lessor in New York State, must obtain a supplier’s license from the New York State Gaming Commission."
NYSGC Supplier Application Instructions (Rev. 8/2024)What is not a licensed supplier: a general fundraising website, a payment app, or a raffle tool built for other states, unless that company has gone through the Commission's licensing and appears on the list. Licenses are issued in the company's registered name, so the name on the Commission's list may differ from the brand name you know.
How does the supplier show up in your application?
By name and number, before the Commission will consider the rest. Item 9 of the application asks you to list every licensed supplier associated with the raffle and its Commission license number. Item 10 asks where the server is. Exhibits 11 to 17 are written descriptions of how age, location, accounts, privacy, security and self-exclusion are handled. Those exhibits describe the platform you will be selling on, which is why choosing the supplier comes before you can file.
"9. List all licensed suppliers of games of chance equipment associated with this proposed raffle: Name Gaming Commission games of chance supplier license number (See GML § 189(3); 189-a; 9 NYCRR § 4620.22(b)(8) & Part 4623) 10. Location of server or other electronic equipment initiating and accepting raffle ticket sales: Street address: Municipality: County:"
Internet/Mobile Raffle Ticket Sales Application (Rev. 9/2024), Raffle Information items 9 and 10Why does the server have to be in New York?
Because the rule treats the sale as happening where the server is. An online sale is permitted only when the equipment that offers the ticket and accepts the purchase sits in a New York municipality where raffle sales are authorized, and the buyer is in New York at that moment. The application asks for a street address, municipality and county for that equipment, so this is a physical location, not a network setting, and it is the supplier's to provide.
"No sale of a raffle ticket though an internet or a mobile device platform may occur unless the server or other electronic equipment that initiates the offering of a raffle ticket for sale and accepts a request to purchase such ticket is located in a municipality in this State in which the sale of such tickets is authorized as set forth in General Municipal Law section 189(13) and the purchaser of such ticket is located, at the moment of purchase, in this State."
9 NYCRR § 4620.22(b)(7)(ii)What may a supplier do, and what stays with your organization?
The supplier provides and services the platform. It may not run your raffle, and you may not hand your raffle to it or to anyone else. Those are two separate rules that meet in the middle: your members operate the raffle, on the supplier's system.
"No person who is directly or indirectly connected with the manufacture, sale or distribution of games of chance equipment or supplies, or such person's agents or employees, shall conduct, participate, advise or assist in the conduct of games of chance, or render any service to anyone conducting, participating or assisting in the conduct of games of chance, or prepare any form pertaining to games of chance. This shall not be construed so as to prohibit a licensed manufacturer or supplier from selling, offering for sale, or explaining a product to a licensed authorized organization or installing or servicing games of chance equipment upon the premises of a licensed authorized organization."
9 NYCRR § 4607.13"No authorized organization shall outsource or otherwise delegate to another entity or person, including, without limitation, a third-party fundraising entity, the conduct of a raffle through the internet or mobile device."
9 NYCRR § 4620.22(b)(7)(v)In practice: you create the raffle, set the prize and dates, file the application in your own name, conduct the physical drawing and file your reports. Whichever licensed supplier's platform you sell on, the rules require that platform to perform the checks on every online sale: the buyer's location, age, purchaser account and the self-exclusion screen. How a particular supplier does that is a question to ask it; how RFFL does it is below.
How do you check a supplier?
- Ask for the Commission supplier license number and look it up on the Commission's list of licensed suppliers. The list shows the company's registered name.
- Ask where the server that takes the orders is located. You will write that address on your application.
- Ask whether the supplier provides the written procedures for Exhibits 11 to 17. If it cannot describe its own geolocation, age-verification and account controls, it cannot support your application.
- Ask how online tickets get into your physical drawing. New York does not allow an electronic drawing, so you will need a record of every ticket sold that you can bring to the drawing.
Where RFFL fits
RFFL is a licensed games of chance supplier. The license is held by our company, Game & Give, LLC, as NYSGC Games of Chance Supplier License #269, and it appears under that name on the Commission's supplier list. Our servers are in New York, and we supply the supplier-specific information your Internet/Mobile application asks for: the server address, the parental-control and age-verification procedures, and the other platform details. Your organization remains the licensee and the seller: you file the application in your own name, your members run the raffle, and you conduct the drawing. Details are on the platform page, and Reggie can answer a question about your organization's situation.
More answers
Sources
- NYSGC Internet/Mobile Raffle Ticket Sales Application (Rev. 9/2024), Important Reminders (software, platforms and electronic equipment) and Raffle Information items 9 to 17
- 9 NYCRR § 4620.22(b)(7)(ii) and (v) and (b)(8); 9 NYCRR § 4607.13 (persons prohibited from participating in the conduct of games of chance)
- General Municipal Law § 189-a, authorized supplier of games of chance equipment; General Municipal Law § 189, subdivision 3 (supplies only from a licensed supplier)
- NYSGC Supplier Application Instructions (Rev. 8/2024)
- NYSGC list of licensed charitable gaming suppliers
This page is educational. It summarizes the rules as published by the New York State Gaming Commission and is not legal advice. Where this page and the Commission's documents differ, the documents control, and for your organization's own situation you should check with the Commission or your counsel.