Every charitable lottery or raffle needs a license — but not every license is created equal.
If you’re looking at strategies to grow your raffle program this year, here’s what you’ll want to consider before applying for your lottery license (because they’ll ask about it, and they pay more attention to detail than the guy checking McLovin’s driver’s license.)
Every province in Canada and most states require a lottery license to fundraise with raffles. And you guessed it... Every region has a distinct set of rules for raffling.
So, before applying for a charitable lottery license, let’s figure out which raise-more strategies need to go in your application.
Your first move? Getting familiar with your region’s lottery license application process.
For Canadian fundraisers, check out our unofficial, but highly researched province-by-province guide to charitable lotteries in Canada. If you’re in the US and need more information on your state’s lottery licensing regulations, get in touch.
Reliant, compliant, and never defiant... How does your raffle grow?
With Early Birds, and multiple draws,
And winner announcements all in a row.
(Who said raffling can be our only talent, right? But back to that...)
Your raffle structure means:
You know, everything that makes it yours.
So, let’s look at these raffle structure tactics and take some notes before filling out your charitable gaming application.
Before applying for your charitable lottery license, figure out the most effective timeline for your raffle.
Ask yourself/your fundraising team questions like:
Once you know how long you’re running/how often if it’s a recurring raffle, you can decide if you need to add draws like Early Birds.
How much are people willing to spend on your raffle tickets?
If you’re already running a raffle, analyze your sales reports to find your most (and least) popular ticket packages.
Then, you can adjust from there.
If you’re not running a raffle yet, browse popular raffles to see how they’re setting up their packages.
According to our State of Raffling report, the most popular ticket package in 2024 was 20 for $20. (If you want more data like that to inform this year’s raffle growth strategy, get your free copy of the report while it’s available.)
Early Bird draws are another chance for ticket buyers to win on top of your Grand Prize/final jackpot.
Raffle admins know the common trend — sales peak when your raffle launches and again right before the draw.
A key to growing awareness of your program, and ultimately, revenue, is finding opportunities to boost sales during lulls.
So, Early Bird draws are traditional and well-loved by raffle supporters everywhere. Trends show existing, loyal supporters capitalize on the extra chance to win and buy tickets sooner when there’s an Early Bird draw.
Then, with your bigger-and-better jackpot, you attract more new support.
Early Birds aren’t the only option for extra fun.
Raffle add-ons are an effective tactic for growing excitement and engagement around your raffle program (and for raising more with a single raffle.)
With add-ons, you’re still marketing raffle and sharing one link, but there’s an extra opportunity for supporters to add tickets to their order and win.
Groups like the Nova Scotia Firefighters’ 50/50 run a weekly draw with a cash-prize add on, meaning when supporters are buying tickets, there’s another opportunity to add a package and win $1,000 cash:
Then, there are major prize raffles like The Rotary Club of Wasaga Beach’s Corvette Lottery. Supporters already have five extra chances to win with Early Bird draws, then, if they add 50/50 tickets, they could take home half the pot, too. AND the Grand Prize. Exciting, right?
Now that you’ve thought it all through, you can fill out your application, send it in, and wait for approval. (And yes, we assume you’re getting approved because there’s no way you’ll get rejected if you review our guides.)
And if you read the provincial lottery licensing guides and still need help? Let us know. We’ll see what we can do to help.