Kansas Raffle Laws: Can Nonprofits Sell 50/50 Raffle Tickets Online in 2026?
Learn Kansas raffle laws for nonprofits, including online ticket sales, 50/50 raffles, credit cards, licensing requirements, cash prizes, and compliance rules.
For nonprofit organizations looking for a state that has embraced online charitable raffle sales, Kansas stands out.
Kansas expressly permits qualifying nonprofit organizations to conduct charitable raffles. The Kansas Department of Revenue also confirms that raffle tickets can be sold online, tickets can be purchased using credit cards, and 50/50 drawings qualify as raffles under state law.
That combination makes Kansas particularly interesting for nonprofits looking to modernize traditional raffle fundraising.
There are still important rules to understand. Kansas restricts who may conduct charitable raffles, establishes licensing requirements once annual raffle sales exceed $25,000, requires licensed organizations to maintain detailed records, and prohibits nonprofits from contracting with professional raffle or lottery vendors to manage, operate, or conduct their raffles.
For nonprofits considering online 50/50 fundraising, understanding where technology ends and operation of the raffle begins is especially important.
Quick Answer: Are Online 50/50 Raffles Legal in Kansas?
Yes. Kansas allows qualifying nonprofit organizations to conduct charitable raffles, and the Kansas Department of Revenue expressly states that raffle tickets can be sold online. The state also confirms that a 50/50 drawing is considered a raffle and that raffle tickets may be paid for in advance using cash, check, or credit card.
Qualifying nonprofits whose annual gross receipts from raffle ticket sales do not exceed $25,000 generally do not need a Kansas raffle license. Organizations exceeding that threshold must obtain a charitable raffle license from the Kansas Department of Revenue.
However, Kansas law also says a nonprofit may not contract with a professional raffle or lottery vendor to manage, operate, or conduct its raffle.
That distinction is especially important when evaluating an online raffle platform.
Kansas Raffle Laws at a Glance
Question | Kansas Rule |
Are charitable raffles legal? | Yes |
Are 50/50 raffles legal? | Yes |
Can raffle tickets be sold online? | Yes |
Can supporters pay by credit card? | Yes |
Is cash an allowable prize? | Yes |
Who can conduct raffles? | Qualifying nonprofit religious, charitable, fraternal, educational and veterans' organizations |
Is a raffle license always required? | No |
When is a license required? | When annual raffle gross receipts exceed $25,000 |
Initial licensed-raffle planning | KDOR says a license must be received before ticket sales and instructs organizations to apply at least 30 days beforehand |
Can a professional raffle company conduct the raffle? | No |
Are raffle records required? | Yes for licensed organizations, generally retained for three years |
Who regulates raffles? | Kansas Department of Revenue, Charitable Gaming |
Kansas therefore provides several of the features modern nonprofit fundraisers are looking for: online sales, credit-card payments, cash raffles and 50/50 fundraising. The operational rules still matter.
RaffleGives Compliance Tip
Kansas allows online raffle ticket sales, but online does not mean outsourced.
Kansas law specifically reserves charitable raffles for qualifying nonprofit organizations and prohibits a raffle licensee from contracting with a professional raffle or lottery vendor to manage, operate or conduct a raffle. A nonprofit considering any third-party fundraising platform should therefore determine exactly what the technology provider does.
Providing software or technology is not necessarily the same activity as legally managing, operating or conducting a raffle. But nonprofits should not assume every third-party raffle arrangement is permissible simply because Kansas allows tickets to be sold online.
Before using a paid third-party platform, the organization should confirm that its particular structure complies with Kansas charitable gaming requirements.
Why Are Kansas Nonprofits Looking for Better Raffle Fundraising Options?
The challenge for many nonprofit organizations is no longer simply finding another fundraising idea. It is finding fundraising programs supporters will actually participate in without creating another major administrative burden for staff and volunteers. Traditional events can require venues, food, volunteers, sponsorships, ticket sales and months of preparation. Direct donation campaigns remain essential, but organizations can struggle to repeatedly reach the same supporters with the same request to give.
Raffles introduce a different form of participation. Instead of asking supporters only to make another donation, a nonprofit can create an engaging fundraising experience in which participants support the mission while having an opportunity to win a prize.
Kansas makes that model particularly interesting because its charitable gaming framework expressly accommodates online ticket sales and 50/50 drawings.
Who Can Legally Conduct a Raffle in Kansas?
Kansas limits charitable raffles to specific types of nonprofit organizations. Under the Kansas Charitable Gaming Act, charitable raffles may be conducted by qualifying nonprofit:
- Religious organizations
- Charitable organizations
- Fraternal organizations
- Educational organizations
- Veterans' organizations
The organization itself must be the entity conducting the charitable raffle. Kansas law is designed in part to prevent the commercialization of charitable gaming and the diversion of charitable gaming funds away from legitimate nonprofit purposes.
That policy helps explain why Kansas allows modern sales methods while still placing restrictions on who can actually manage, operate and conduct a raffle.
Do Kansas Nonprofits Need a Raffle License?
Not always. One of the more nonprofit-friendly aspects of Kansas raffle law is its licensing threshold. A qualifying nonprofit organization generally does not need a charitable raffle license when its annual gross receipts from raffles do not exceed $25,000.
Once annual raffle gross receipts exceed $25,000, the organization becomes subject to Kansas raffle licensing requirements. Current annual fees are based on gross raffle receipts:
The fees themselves are relatively modest.
For organizations that require a license, the Kansas Department of Revenue says the organization must apply for and receive the charitable raffle license before selling raffle tickets and instructs applicants to apply at least 30 days before ticket sales begin. Kansas charitable gaming licenses operate on a July 1 through June 30 licensing year.
Can Kansas Nonprofits Sell Raffle Tickets Online?
Yes.
This is one of the most important differences between Kansas and many other states. The Kansas Department of Revenue directly addresses the question in its charitable gaming guidance:
Raffle tickets can be sold online as long as all other raffle requirements are satisfied.
That is a materially stronger position than states where statutes were written around physical tickets and regulators have never clearly authorized internet sales. For Kansas nonprofits, digital marketing can therefore extend beyond simply advertising that a raffle exists. An eligible organization can use the internet as a sales channel for its charitable raffle, provided the organization continues to comply with the other requirements that apply to the raffle.
That creates significant opportunities for nonprofits whose supporters extend beyond a single fundraising event or physical venue.
Can Kansas Raffle Tickets Be Purchased With a Credit Card?
Yes.
Kansas requires raffle tickets to be paid for in advance, but the Kansas Department of Revenue allows payment using:
Cash, check or credit card.
The nonprofit cannot extend credit for the purchase of raffle tickets. Credit-card authorization is especially important for digital fundraising because permitting an online raffle while prohibiting electronic payment would dramatically limit the usefulness of online sales. Kansas does not create that disconnect.
Online ticket sales and credit-card payments are both expressly recognized by the state's charitable gaming guidance.
Are 50/50 Raffles Legal in Kansas?
Yes.
The Kansas Department of Revenue expressly answers this question in its charitable gaming guidance and states that a 50/50 drawing is considered a raffle. Tickets sold for a 50/50 drawing must comply with the applicable raffle ticket and licensing requirements.
In a typical 50/50 raffle, supporters purchase entries into the drawing and the prize is based on a portion of the resulting raffle pool. The remaining proceeds benefit the nonprofit organization. This creates a simple fundraising proposition for supporters because participation simultaneously supports the organization and increases the potential prize.
For Kansas nonprofits, the ability to combine a legally recognized 50/50 raffle with online ticket sales and credit-card payments creates a particularly interesting digital fundraising opportunity.
Can the Prize Be Cash?
Yes.
Kansas charitable raffle rules allow prizes consisting of cash, merchandise or other things of value that may legally be owned. That means Kansas does not restrict nonprofit raffles to donated merchandise or physical prizes. For organizations considering 50/50 fundraising, that is essential because the winning prize is generally cash. Kansas therefore clears three major legal questions nonprofits frequently encounter when evaluating digital 50/50 fundraising:
Cash prizes are permitted.
50/50 drawings are raffles.
Raffle tickets may be sold online.
Those are significant advantages.
Is There a Maximum Amount a Kansas Nonprofit Raffle Can Raise?
The Kansas charitable raffle licensing structure does not impose a universal gross-receipts ceiling on nonprofit raffles. Instead, the amount raised determines whether the organization needs a license and, once licensed, which annual licensing fee applies.
An organization with $20,000 in annual raffle gross receipts can generally remain below the licensing threshold.
An organization generating $40,000 becomes subject to the $25 license tier.
An organization exceeding $100,000 in annual raffle gross receipts pays a $100 annual raffle license fee.
That means a successful raffle does not simply become illegal because ticket sales grow. However, nonprofits approaching the $25,000 threshold should plan ahead. Organizations should not intentionally operate without a license and then wait to see whether ticket sales exceed the threshold. Kansas instructs organizations that unexpectedly exceed the threshold without a license to contact the Department of Revenue, which handles those situations individually. A growing nonprofit should build licensing into the campaign before growth becomes a compliance problem.
Can a Third-Party Company Run a Kansas Nonprofit Raffle?
This is one of the most important Kansas rules for organizations evaluating raffle technology. Kansas law states that a raffle licensee may not contract with a professional raffle or lottery vendor to manage, operate or conduct a raffle. The Kansas Department of Revenue reinforces the point in its FAQ. When asked whether an organization can hire a professional company to conduct its raffle, the department says state statutes do not allow it.
Kansas law also generally prohibits remuneration or profit for participating in the management, conduct or operation of a raffle conducted by a licensed organization, subject to statutory exceptions.
The purpose of the Kansas Charitable Gaming Act includes preventing the commercialization of charitable gaming. That does not necessarily mean a nonprofit is prohibited from purchasing ordinary technology, payment processing, communications tools or other services.
It does mean the organization must remain responsible for legally conducting the raffle.
What Does This Mean for Online Raffle Software?
This is where nonprofits should perform careful due diligence. There is a meaningful difference between a software company providing technology and a company actually taking over the management, operation or conduct of the charitable raffle. For example, nonprofits routinely use technology for websites, payment processing, communications, recordkeeping and supporter management.
But if a third party begins making the decisions or performing the functions Kansas considers management, operation or conduct of the raffle, the relationship could implicate the statutory prohibition. Kansas's public guidance reviewed for this article does not provide a simple universal test that determines when every SaaS relationship crosses that line.
Therefore, nonprofits considering a third-party online raffle platform should confirm the proposed operating model with the Kansas Department of Revenue and, when appropriate, qualified legal counsel. The fact that a platform is technically capable of processing an online raffle does not by itself determine whether the contractual structure complies with Kansas law.
What Information Must Be on Kansas Raffle Tickets?
Licensed Kansas organizations have specific ticket requirements. Each raffle ticket must include information such as the nonprofit organization's name, Kansas raffle license number, the word "Raffle," drawing date, time and location, ticket price, whether the participant must be present to win, and a unique sequential identification number appearing on the raffle ticket and corresponding stub.
Kansas also requires tickets for the same raffle to be offered at the same price. However, organizations can offer discounts for purchasing multiple tickets as long as the same offer is available to everyone participating in the raffle. That means common fundraising structures such as multi-ticket packages can be possible while maintaining consistent public pricing.
Organizations conducting online sales should make sure their digital ticketing process still captures all information required under the applicable Kansas rules.
Does the Winner Have to Be Present?
Kansas requires licensed raffle tickets to state whether the participant must be present to win. That gives organizations an important planning consideration when designing a campaign. A raffle intended primarily for attendees at an event may use a different participation structure than a statewide digital campaign promoted through email and social media.
Whatever rule the organization chooses should be clearly disclosed to supporters before they purchase tickets.
Transparency is particularly important for online campaigns because participants may be purchasing from somewhere other than the physical drawing location.
What Records Must Kansas Nonprofits Keep?
Licensed Kansas raffle organizations have meaningful recordkeeping responsibilities. Kansas requires licensees to maintain raffle records for three years after the raffle is conducted.
The state's Charitable Gaming Handbook identifies records that can include the raffle date, total gross ticket-sale receipts, number of tickets available, number sold, number given away, number returned unsold, ticket price, value of tickets sold and given away, winner information, documentation supporting prize values, and records showing raffle proceeds were deposited into the organization's bank account.
Licensed organizations must also report winners receiving prizes with a retail value of $1,199 or more. The state's Raffle Return and Reconciliation process is used to reconcile annual raffle gross receipts and the appropriate licensing fee. Good technology can make this kind of accountability considerably easier, but the legal responsibility ultimately remains with the nonprofit.
Can Schools Conduct Raffles in Kansas?
Yes, qualifying educational organizations can conduct charitable raffles.
The Kansas Department of Revenue specifically states that school districts may conduct raffles and treats each school within a district as a separate entity for raffle purposes. Schools must comply with applicable licensing and ticket requirements. This makes Kansas particularly relevant for school foundations, educational nonprofits and other organizations looking for alternatives to traditional product sales or event-based fundraising.
As with other organizations, schools interested in online raffles should make sure their campaign structure complies with both charitable gaming requirements and any applicable district policies.
Can Kansas Nonprofits Conduct Multiple Raffles?
Yes.
The Kansas Department of Revenue states that there is no limitation on the number of raffles a licensee may conduct during the licensing period. That can make raffles more useful as part of an annual fundraising strategy rather than treating them only as a once-a-year special event.
An organization could potentially build raffle fundraising around different events, campaigns or seasonal fundraising periods while maintaining the appropriate compliance and recordkeeping processes.
For nonprofits trying to diversify fundraising revenue, repeatable fundraising programs can be particularly valuable because the organization does not need to reinvent its entire fundraising strategy every time it needs to generate revenue.
What Are Common Kansas Raffle Compliance Mistakes?
The biggest mistake may be assuming that because Kansas permits online raffle ticket sales, everything connected with an online raffle is automatically permitted.
It is not.
The nonprofit must still be an eligible organization. Applicable licensing rules still apply. Tickets must comply with Kansas requirements. Payments must be made in advance. Records must be maintained. Licensed organizations must reconcile their raffle activity.
And critically, the nonprofit cannot simply hire a professional raffle or lottery company to take over management, operation or conduct of the raffle. Another potential mistake is failing to prepare for the $25,000 annual threshold.
A successful online campaign can expand quickly. An organization that expects to approach that amount should understand the licensing process before launching rather than waiting until sales cross the threshold. Compliance should be part of the fundraising plan from the beginning.
Why Is Kansas an Important State for Digital Nonprofit Fundraising?
Kansas demonstrates that charitable gaming laws and digital fundraising do not have to be incompatible. The state permits charitable raffles.
It recognizes 50/50 drawings.
It permits cash prizes.
It expressly permits online raffle ticket sales.
It permits advance payment by credit card.
And it provides a relatively modest licensing structure for organizations whose raffle fundraising grows beyond $25,000 annually. Those features remove several of the barriers that prevent nonprofits in other states from using modern fundraising methods. At the same time, Kansas maintains a clear policy that the nonprofit must remain in control of the charitable gaming activity. That combination creates opportunity while preserving accountability.
How Can Technology Help Kansas Nonprofits Run Better Raffles?
Technology can remove significant administrative friction from nonprofit fundraising. A modern platform can help organizations create campaign pages, communicate with supporters, process authorized payments, organize participant information, track campaign performance and maintain cleaner records.
Those capabilities can be especially valuable when a raffle is promoted beyond a single physical event. But technology should support the nonprofit rather than replace the nonprofit as the organization legally responsible for the raffle. That distinction is especially important in Kansas because the state expressly prohibits professional raffle or lottery vendors from managing, operating or conducting a nonprofit's raffle.
RaffleGives is built specifically around nonprofit raffle fundraising, but organizations considering RaffleGives in Kansas should confirm that the proposed technology, payment and service arrangement complies with Kansas's third-party restrictions before launching.
Our philosophy is straightforward:
Technology should make compliant fundraising easier. It should never be used to bypass the law.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kansas Raffle Laws
Are nonprofit raffles legal in Kansas?
Yes. Kansas permits qualifying nonprofit religious, charitable, fraternal, educational and veterans' organizations to conduct charitable raffles.
Can Kansas nonprofits sell raffle tickets online?
Yes. The Kansas Department of Revenue expressly states that raffle tickets can be sold online as long as all other applicable raffle requirements are satisfied.
Are online 50/50 raffles legal in Kansas?
Kansas recognizes 50/50 drawings as raffles and expressly allows raffle tickets to be sold online. Organizations must still satisfy all applicable charitable raffle requirements, including licensing and operational restrictions.
Can Kansas nonprofits accept credit cards for raffle tickets?
Yes. Kansas permits raffle tickets to be paid for in advance using cash, check or credit card. Credit cannot be extended for ticket purchases.
Are cash raffle prizes legal in Kansas?
Yes. Kansas charitable raffles may award cash, merchandise or another thing of value that may legally be owned.
Does a Kansas nonprofit need a raffle license?
A qualifying nonprofit generally does not need a raffle license when its annual gross receipts from raffles do not exceed $25,000. Organizations exceeding $25,000 in annual raffle gross receipts must obtain the appropriate Kansas charitable raffle license.
How much does a Kansas raffle license cost?
Current annual fees range from $25 for organizations exceeding $25,000 but not exceeding $50,000 in raffle gross receipts to $100 for organizations exceeding $100,000.
Can a company conduct a raffle for a Kansas nonprofit?
Kansas law prohibits a raffle licensee from contracting with a professional raffle or lottery vendor to manage, operate or conduct the raffle. Organizations considering third-party technology or services should confirm that their specific arrangement complies with this restriction.
Is there a limit on how many raffles a Kansas nonprofit can conduct?
The Kansas Department of Revenue states that there is no limit on the number of raffles a licensee may conduct during the licensing period.
How long must Kansas raffle records be retained?
Licensed raffle organizations generally must maintain their charitable raffle records for three years following the date of the raffle.
Official Kansas Raffle Resources
Kansas Department of Revenue, Charitable Gaming
https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bustaxtypesbingo.html
Kansas Department of Revenue, Raffle Information
https://www.ksrevenue.gov/bingoraffle.html
Kansas Charitable Gaming Act
https://www.kslegislature.gov/
Kansas Raffle Initial and Renewal Application, Form BI-70
Available through the Kansas Department of Revenue Forms Library.
Kansas Raffle Return and Reconciliation, Form BI-75
Available through the Kansas Department of Revenue Forms Library.
Kansas Charitable Gaming Handbook, Publication KS-1640
Available through the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Organizations with questions about a particular raffle structure can contact Kansas Department of Revenue Charitable Gaming at 785-368-8222 or kdor_bingo@ks.gov.
Related Reading
Planning an Online 50/50 Raffle in Kansas?
Kansas provides nonprofit organizations with something many states still do not: clear regulatory recognition of online raffle ticket sales and 50/50 fundraising.
For qualifying nonprofits, that creates an opportunity to reach supporters beyond a physical fundraising event and create a more convenient way for communities to participate. But the nonprofit must remain at the center of the raffle.
Before choosing an online raffle platform, confirm your organization's eligibility, determine whether licensing is required, understand the ticket and reporting requirements, and verify that any third-party technology relationship complies with Kansas's restrictions on professional raffle and lottery vendors.
RaffleGives believes the future of nonprofit raffle fundraising should be digital, accessible and compliance-first.
Learn more about modern nonprofit raffle fundraising at RaffleGives.com.
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This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Charitable gaming laws, regulations and administrative interpretations can change. Nonprofits should verify current requirements with the Kansas Department of Revenue and consult qualified legal counsel when appropriate.
