Connecticut Raffle Laws for Nonprofits (2026)

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Table of contents

• Who regulates raffles in Connecticut

• Who can host a raffle in Connecticut

• The seven raffle permit classes

• Prize rules under 7-177

• Raffle ticket requirements

• Online sales, promotion, and the 7-172 bar

• Municipal application process step by step

• Post-raffle reporting

• Can you use Zeffy to run online raffles in Connecticut?

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Connecticut is the clearest case in the country of why "can I take a card for it?" is not the compliance test. C.G.S. 7-172 permits card payment for raffle tickets and, in the same statute, restricts online raffle-ticket sale to the sponsoring organization's own website while barring the operation of an online raffle outright.

This guide walks through the municipal permit path, the six-month plus locality eligibility rule, the prize rules, and what Zeffy is and is not the tool for on a Connecticut raffle.

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Who regulates raffles in Connecticut

Raffles for charitable and nonprofit organizations in Connecticut are regulated by the Department of Consumer Protection, Gaming Division. The old Division of Special Revenue was abolished on July 1, 2011 and its gaming functions transferred to DCP. Any older guide, county FAQ, or PDF that still routes readers to the Division of Special Revenue is out of date.

Permits themselves are issued at the municipal level, not the state level. That is the operational spine of this whole process, and it is where most first-time organizers get tripped up.

For a small CT nonprofit: your first call is not to the state. It is to your municipal clerk or chief of police, to confirm the town has adopted 7-170 to 7-186 and to get the current application form.

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Who can host a raffle in Connecticut

Connecticut requires a permit for every raffle. To be eligible, your organization must have been functioning as a nonprofit for at least six months prior to applying AND must have been functioning within the municipality that will issue the permit. Both conditions apply. The six-month rule replaced the older one-year requirement in 1995 (P.A. 95-59), and the locality clause is often dropped from summaries, but the statute names both.

Eligible organizations include:

• Officially recognized organizations or associations of veterans of a war the United States was engaged in

• Churches and religious organizations actively functioning

• Civic, service, or social clubs

• Fraternal or fraternal benefit societies

• Educational or charitable organizations

• Officially recognized volunteer fire companies

• Political parties or town committees

Individuals and commercial businesses cannot host raffles, even if the proceeds are donated to charity.

For a small CT nonprofit: the locality clause is the one people miss. A statewide charity that has never operated in the town cannot pull a permit from that town. Show your municipal history when you apply.

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The seven raffle permit classes

Connecticut offers seven classes of raffle permit. The permit fee itself is set by the municipality, up to the statutory maximum below.

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Confirm the actual fee your town charges with your municipal clerk before you file. Towns set the fee within the ceiling above and can also require additional local documentation.

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Prize rules under 7-177

Connecticut is one of the few states that names, in statute, what a raffle can and cannot award. This section replaces the vague "generally alcohol or cash prizes are not allowed, but there are a couple exceptions" framing that appears in older guides.

C.G.S. 7-177(a) states: "No cash prizes or prizes consisting of alcoholic liquor shall be given, except as provided in subsection (b) ... and section 7-177a."

That is the rule. The exceptions are narrow and are named in the statute itself:

• 7-177(b) permits cash prizes for specific permit classes. Under the current class structure, Class No. 1, Class No. 2, and Class No. 4 permits may award cash prizes.

• 7-177a permits a golf ball drop cash prize under a Class No. 6 permit.

Everything else on the "allowed" side is non-cash: merchandise, tangible personal property, and nonrefundable, nontransferable tickets, coupons, or gift certificates for merchandise, services, or touring (transportation by land, water, or air). Prizes cannot be redeemed or redeemable for cash.

If your nonprofit will award cash prizes under one of the permitted classes, 7-177 also requires you to open and maintain a dedicated checking account. All raffle proceeds go into that account, and raffle expenses and cash prizes come out of it.

For a small CT nonprofit: a 50/50 cash raffle is not a general option in Connecticut. It only works under a Class No. 1, 2, or 4 permit, and it comes with the dedicated-account bookkeeping. If cash prizes aren't required to make your raffle work, a merchandise or gift-certificate prize keeps the paperwork lighter.

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Raffle ticket requirements

Connecticut requires that all raffle tickets, sold and unsold, clearly display:

• The time, date, and place of the raffle

• The three most valuable prizes and the total number of prizes

To make ticket handling and the draw manageable, we also recommend including:

• A unique, consecutive number on each ticket

• The cost of an individual ticket and any package pricing

• The name of your nonprofit

• A detachable coupon or stub marked with the same unique number as the ticket

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Check with your town: some municipalities require you to submit a ticket proof with the application.

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Online sales, promotion, and the 7-172 bar

This is where Connecticut differs from most states, and it is the section most older guides get wrong.

C.G.S. 7-172 states, verbatim: "Such sponsoring organization may accept a credit card, debit card, check or cash as payment for a raffle ticket. Any such sponsoring organization ... may sell or promote the sale of such raffle tickets on such sponsoring organization's Internet web site ... In no event shall any sponsoring organization conduct or operate an online raffle."

Three things sit in that one passage:

• 1. Card payment is permitted.

• 2. Online ticket sale is permitted only on the sponsoring organization's own Internet website.

• 3. Operating an online raffle is expressly barred.

The own-website provision and the online-raffle bar were added by Public Act 17-161, which became effective October 1, 2017. Older articles that say "as of May 26, 2017 you can sell raffle tickets online" state the amendment's scope too broadly. The statute permits online sale only on the organization's own website, not on a third-party platform.

Connecticut does allow you to use the internet to:

• Advertise your raffle (newsletters, banners, social posts)

• Display the rules of the raffle

• Store the sponsoring organization's contact information

• Let participants download a raffle entry form for manual completion (the form itself cannot be submitted online)

• Answer frequently asked questions

• Show descriptions, photos, or videos of the prizes

• List the prize winners after the draw

Promote online, transact on your own website or in person.

For a small CT nonprofit: if you don't already have your own transactional website (a WordPress site with a payment processor, a Squarespace store, something you own and operate), building one just to sell raffle tickets legally is more infrastructure than most small orgs raise from a raffle. The offline path (printed tickets, in-person sales, in-person draw, card at point of sale) is almost always the cheaper answer.

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Municipal application process step by step

Step 1: Verify municipal compliance

Raffles are only legal in Connecticut municipalities that have adopted sections 7-170 to 7-186 of the Municipal Powers legislation. Call your municipal clerk or chief of police to confirm.

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Step 2: Obtain the correct application form

Your municipality may use the state-provided Raffle Application Form or its own version. Ask which one applies.

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Step 3: Complete the application

You will typically be asked for:

• Nonprofit information: name, address, and details of incorporation

• Officer information: names, titles, and addresses of the organization's officers

• Raffle details: date, location, anticipated sales and expenses, prize descriptions with retail values, and donor information for donated prizes

• Purpose of net proceeds: what the raffle proceeds will fund

• Responsible members: three active nonprofit members responsible for the raffle

• Verification statement: signed by those three members confirming they are Connecticut residents and that the information is accurate

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Step 4: Submit the application

Submit the completed application to your local municipal office (chief of police or chief executive officer, per 7-173) for review. If you need statewide guidance, contact the Department of Consumer Protection, Gaming Division at portal.ct.gov/dcp.

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Step 5: Await approval

The municipality reviews the application and issues the permit if all requirements are met. See Connecticut's sample raffle permit application with instructions.

Check your own permit: permit issuance is a municipal decision. Confirm the fee, the timeline, and any local documentation with your municipal clerk before you file.

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Post-raffle reporting

Your work isn't done when the draw is over. For every raffle, the sponsoring organization must file a report showing:

• Gross receipts from the raffle

• Number and price of tickets sold

• Sold and unsold coupons

• A list of raffle expenses and the name and address of each business or person paid

• Net profit and how it has been or will be used

• A list of prizes, their retail value, the amount paid for each prize (or the retail value for donated prizes), and the names and addresses of the winners

File the report with your municipality and with the Department of Consumer Protection, Gaming Division at portal.ct.gov/dcp. The old Hartford address and phone number for the Division of Special Revenue that circulate on older guides are no longer active.

Check your own permit: the report timing and format may vary slightly by municipality and permit class. Confirm the deadline with the office that issued your permit.

For a small CT nonprofit: if you already track ticket buyers, payment records, and prize winners in a free donor CRM, most of the numbers the report asks for are already sitting in your records. That is the piece of the process Zeffy actually makes cheaper.

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Can you use Zeffy to run online raffles in Connecticut?

Are raffles legal in Connecticut? Yes, with a permit from your municipality. Can you sell raffle tickets online? No. Can you sell them in person and take a card? Yes.

Zeffy cannot be used to sell raffle tickets online in Connecticut. C.G.S. 7-172 limits online raffle-ticket sale to the sponsoring organization's own Internet website and expressly bars operating an online raffle. A third-party platform is not the tool for that step in Connecticut. The in-person side is open, because the same statute permits a credit card, debit card, check or cash as payment for a raffle ticket.

Zeffy is 100% free for the four sides of a Connecticut raffle a nonprofit actually runs. More than 100K+ nonprofits use Zeffy to raise money at zero cost, and together they have raised $2B+ on the platform.

• Selling raffle tickets in person, by card. C.G.S. 7-172 expressly permits a sponsoring organization to accept a credit card, debit card, check or cash as payment for a raffle ticket. The payment method is not the restricted part, the channel is. So you can sell tickets face to face at the event and take a card for them: Tap to Pay turns a phone into a zero-fee card reader, with no terminal to rent. Check 7-172's staffing rules before you set up the table, though. It confines selling to qualified members of your organization and sets minimum ages.

• Donor CRM for the 7-173 municipal report. A donor CRM already holding ticket buyers, payment records, and prize winners makes the post-raffle report cheaper to file.

• Banquet or dinner ticketing. If the raffle is a side event at a banquet, the event ticket itself is not a raffle ticket and is fine to sell online. Use Zeffy's free event ticketing for that.

• Donation forms. For supporters who would otherwise be blocked from buying a ticket online, direct them to a donation form instead. Free donation forms are legal in Connecticut with no permit.

No platform fee, no transaction fee, no credit card fee. Ever. Your nonprofit keeps 100% of every donation.

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