Verdict: Are raffles legal in North Carolina? Yes, for qualified nonprofits, but the statute is strict: no more than five raffles a year, $125,000 per raffle and $250,000 across the year, and at least 90% of net proceeds must go to the mission. Can you sell tickets online? GS 14-309.15 does not say, and silence is not permission, so plan on selling in person. Can you take a card for that in-person sale? The statute does not say that either. It has no payment-instrument provision at all, so confirm your payment setup before you accept one.
What works: One or two well-promoted raffles a year tied to an event. A 50/50 raffle at a gala is the easiest way to hit the 90% net proceeds rule.
What doesn't: Running a stream of small raffles (the five-per-year cap is unforgiving), and paying a person or platform out of raffle proceeds to conduct or host the drawing. GS 14-309.15(f) forbids it.
Best for: Small and mid-sized NC 501(c)(3) organizations that already have an in-person event on the calendar.
Worth considering if: Your nonprofit is recognized as tax-exempt with the NC Department of Revenue and you can promote a raffle to a real audience.
Fundraising raffles are one of the simplest ways for a North Carolina nonprofit to raise real money at an event. But North Carolina runs one of the stricter raffle statutes in the country, and the live guidance floating around the internet has some numbers wrong.
This 2026 guide sticks close to what North Carolina General Statute 14-309.15 actually says: how many raffles you can hold, how big the prizes can be, where the 90% net proceeds rule bites hardest, and what the statute is silent on (including online ticket sales).
Are raffles legal in NC for nonprofits?
Yes. Raffles are legal in North Carolina for qualified nonprofit organizations, political candidates and committees, and government entities. To conduct one, a nonprofit needs to be recognized as tax-exempt by the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
The rules live in General Statute 14-309.15, enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly. Violating it is a Class 2 misdemeanor and can bar the individual involved from conducting a raffle for a year. That is the practical reason to read the statute carefully before printing tickets.
For a small NC nonprofit: the good news is you don't need a state raffle license. The catch is the numeric limits below are hard limits, and the 90% net proceeds rule quietly disqualifies a lot of "raffle platforms" that take a cut.
What does North Carolina consider a raffle?
North Carolina defines a raffle as a game where a prize is won by randomly drawing the name or number of one or more people who paid for a chance to win.
A drawing where tickets are handed out at an event with no purchase required and no payment involved is not a raffle under the statute. Those are door prizes or drawings, and they sit outside GS 14-309.15.
NC raffle laws under GS 14-309.15
Section 14-309.15 of the North Carolina statutes sets the following rules for nonprofit raffles:
- Up to five raffles per year. A qualifying nonprofit may hold no more than five raffles per calendar year (GS 14-309.15(c)).
- $125,000 maximum cash prize per raffle. The maximum cash prize offered or paid for any single raffle is $125,000.
- $125,000 maximum fair market value for a merchandise prize. Same cap applies when the prize is merchandise instead of cash.
- $250,000 annual cap. Total cash prizes and total fair market value of all prizes offered by the nonprofit across all raffles in a calendar year cannot exceed $250,000 combined.
- $2,250,000 real property cap per year. Real estate can be offered as a raffle prize, but the total appraised value of all real estate prizes offered by the nonprofit in a calendar year cannot exceed $2,250,000 (GS 14-309.15(g)).
- 90% net proceeds to the mission. At least 90% of the net proceeds of the raffle must go to the charitable, religious, educational, civic, or other nonprofit purpose (GS 14-309.15(f)).
- No paying a person or renting a building out of proceeds. Verbatim from GS 14-309.15(f): "None of the net proceeds of the raffle shall be used to pay any person to conduct the raffle, or to rent a building where the tickets are received or sold or the drawing is conducted." This is the rule that quietly kills a lot of raffle platforms.
- Alcohol rules. Alcohol sale or consumption is only allowed outside the room or space where the raffle prize winner is being announced.
For a small nonprofit: the five-per-year and 90%-net-proceeds rules do the most work. They reward one or two well-promoted raffles tied to an event, and they punish stacking a bunch of small ones through a fee-charging platform.
Are 50/50 raffles legal in North Carolina?
Yes. A 50/50 raffle is a raffle under NC law and is subject to the rules above. It also happens to be one of the easier formats for hitting the 90% net proceeds requirement, because printed tickets are basically your only cost.
Nonprofits can partner with a corporate sponsor or local business to sweeten the pot and cross-promote the raffle. After the winner takes their half, the remaining pot goes to the mission (as long as at least 90% of net proceeds clears).
For a small nonprofit: a 50/50 at your annual gala is often the highest-return, lowest-risk raffle format you can run in NC.
What does the statute say about online ticket sales?
Nothing. GS 14-309.15 does not expressly authorize or prohibit selling raffle tickets over the internet. The word "online" and the word "internet" do not appear in the statute.
Silence is not permission. Many NC nonprofits handle this by promoting the raffle online and selling tickets in person at the event, which sidesteps the ambiguity entirely. Before you sell any tickets online, confirm your approach with a North Carolina attorney or the state.
Can you use Zeffy to run online raffles in North Carolina?
Three questions decide this. Are raffles legal in North Carolina? Yes, for qualified nonprofits, with no state raffle license to apply for. Can you sell the tickets online? Not on our advice. GS 14-309.15 does not authorize internet ticket sales, and we would not use Zeffy, or any other platform, to sell them online in North Carolina. Can you sell them in person and take a card? The statute does not say.
Selling in person is what GS 14-309.15 actually contemplates, so that part is settled. How the buyer pays is not. The section has no payment-instrument provision anywhere in it: read from (a) to (h), the words credit, debit, card, check, money order, payment and electronic never appear, and every reference to cash is about the size of a prize rather than the tender for a ticket. There is nothing there permitting a card and nothing there barring one, which means we cannot tell you a card is fine. Ask your local licensing authority or your own counsel before you accept one for a raffle ticket.
One line in the statute matters more than the rest when you are choosing a platform. GS 14-309.15(f), in full: "None of the net proceeds of the raffle shall be used to pay any person to conduct the raffle, or to rent a building where the tickets are received or sold or the drawing is conducted." Both halves bite. A platform that takes a percentage of raffle proceeds is being paid out of those proceeds, and a venue you rent for the ticket table or the draw cannot come out of them either, which is worth knowing before you book a hall. Because Zeffy charges the organization nothing, no part of your proceeds pays us. That does not settle the question for your raffle as a whole, which only your own setup and counsel can do, but it does remove one thing that trips other platforms.
What you can use Zeffy for instead, at $0 in fees:
- Promote the raffle online with a free event page. Most North Carolina nonprofits promote the raffle online and sell the tickets in person, which is the approach this guide recommends. Build the page that carries the rules, the prizes, the draw date and where to buy a ticket in person. Free event ticketing gives you that page, and it sells admission to the gala or draw night at the same time. A donation form is the wrong tool for this job: it collects gifts, it does not explain a raffle.
- Sell the tickets in person, and log each one as you go. This is the channel the statute contemplates. Record every sale in Zeffy's free donor CRM, stub number against buyer name, amount and date, so the ticket log is finished when the shift is. On what you may accept as payment, see above: check with your local licensing authority or your counsel before you take a card.
- Track participants, ticket sales, and winner info for W-2G reporting with a free donor CRM: names, addresses, contact info, and taxpayer ID all in one place.
- Sell event tickets, run peer-to-peer campaigns, and take donations online alongside the raffle, all on the same free platform.
For a small NC nonprofit: promote online, sell in person, track everything digitally.
Can you sell raffle tickets online in North Carolina?
The statute is silent. GS 14-309.15 does not mention online or internet ticket sales, so it neither expressly permits nor expressly prohibits them. Silence is not the same as permission. Most NC nonprofits promote raffles online and sell tickets in person for exactly this reason. Before you sell online, confirm your approach with a North Carolina attorney or the state.
You can still do the digital parts of a raffle with a free tool: promote it online, and track participants, ticket sales, and winners in one dashboard.
What is the difference between a raffle, a lottery, and a sweepstake?
Definitions vary by state and by the organization running the activity. In North Carolina: a sweepstakes is a game, advertising scheme, or promotion someone enters to become eligible for a prize, with or without payment, and winners are determined by chance. A lottery is a game or series of games run by an organization involving tickets to participate in a game of chance. A raffle is a type of lottery where people pay to enter, and a prize is won by drawing a name or number. The North Carolina General Assembly governs all three.
What is statute 14-309.15 in NC?
GS 14-309.15 is North Carolina's raffle statute. It defines what a raffle is, who can hold one, the annual and per-raffle prize limits, the 90% net proceeds rule, and the restrictions on paying people or renting buildings out of proceeds. A violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor and can bar the individual from conducting a raffle for one year.
Are raffle winnings subject to taxes in NC?
Yes. Raffle winnings are subject to federal and state taxes. Winners report prizes on IRS Form W-2G. The organization should collect the winner's name, address, and taxpayer identification, and use IRS Form 5754 where multiple people share a prize. Any raffle prize over $5,000 is subject to tax withholding, and you should coordinate with the IRS before releasing the prize.
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