Comic Raffle? Why Pay Retail When you can Raffle?

It's illegal. Do your research before you publish this, or at least warn people that they put themselves, their comics and their money at risk by playing.

• huh? did you read the article in its entirety or just breeze through it.... i gave plenty of warning for normal people to beware "Take it for what it’s worth. If you are not the gambling type, then you probably will not find playing raffles interesting. If, though, you have scratched off some lottery tickets in your life, then you are game to play."
  
  -AND
  
  its not illegal if done properly but it seems each host does it differently??!! so take that for what its worth ....
  
  https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675437438/facebook-raffle

  • Yes, I read it three times because I couldn't believe it was published. Your repeated warnings did not imply any possible legal entanglements, and in their context seemed to only imply one should be careful because they might have too much fun, or perhaps spread too much money around. Reality check: The second you exchange money for a chance to win something, you've ventured into the realm of state/federal controlled gaming and thus are subject to the various laws governing such games. Facebook and other social media companies are perfectly fine with raffles, as long as those running them are legally entitled to do so. In pretty much every US state and Canadian province, gaming is heavily regulated and "legal" raffles must be approved and licensed by state/provincial gaming commissions. Failure to obtain such license means the raffle is illegal. Once again, I strongly suggest you take this article down, or revise it with the addition of a disclaimer about legal liabilities and/or a non-endorsement clause https://wjactv.com/news/local/facebook-gambling-whats-legal-and-whats-not

    • appreciate you reading but damn this aint CNN man ,, i just play the game. im not a moderator or host or anything but after saying that i understand your concern... from what i can tell raffle games like this started years and years and years ago before i even knew about them .... i assume they been going for almost 10 years strong so people are interested and playing ... it took covid and the home lockdown for me to discover this "new world" as i was on the internet more then usual and boom,, i found one. to each there own for sure...
      
      it seems everybody interprets the rules differently IMO ,, https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675437297/facebook-raffle-rules

Hi, I think raffles are a waste of money and I’ve never played them. Every time you feel like you want to play a raffle you should take the money and put it in a cookie jar (or the virtual equivalent) and just buy the book outright for FMV or under.

Because of the typical bump you are never getting a good return for your odds. For example, if you pay $10 for a 1/10 chance to win an $80 book. Then you do this 10 times odds are you will spend $100 to win an $80 book. Of course, everyone thinks they can get lucky, and sometimes people do but over time it’s a waste of money and you should just save for the book you want.

• Hi, all it takes is that one time i guess and thats what happened to me... u just never know and I definitely feel your sentiment. you have to admit, fmv for some of these books are changing every day so getting one at a discount can be enticing for someone. but believe me, ive lost a few here and there and if i wouldve of just saved up in the cookie jar as you stated then it would be another story.
  
  the "bump" is always suspect IMO on some host, i must admit,,, where are they getting this %% ?? and I try to stay away from those and move on to something else... in your example above odds are you would win MORE then one $80 book IMO ,, just saying,, maybe even more so you would have $160 or maybe $240 worth of books for just $100,, u never know like I said.. i like the 10 spot games , easier to play and do the analytics ,, the 20 or 30 or 100 spot games are a no go me ,, smh

is there a way to contact you (email) privately - to be invited to a FB group?

Richard, it would be helpful if you did a cost analysis for your winnings. Tell us how many raffles you did, how much money you spent, and then how much FMV in books you won. Maybe you had beginner's luck, but it would be neccesary to see the ROI (return on investment) for others to determine if they want to waffle.

• I've heard of this cost analysis before and have seen "other" gamers utilize excel spreadsheets and update them accordingly. I must admit I kind of laugh because to me its not that important to me track and follow as I am using discretionary income that I would use for any other miscellaneous thing every weekend albeit I have thought about it just to see where I am at ,, but keep in mind true ROI will be determined at the time of the SALE IMO ...... you're right, I definitely had beginners luck and def won a few and lost a few. To you point, these groups have 2k , 3k if not more people in them but only a handful of people playing "regularly" so people are definitely cautious and only spectating for now it seems. to each there own.

They're illegal. https://chance2win.org/us-online-legal-raffle/ But with that being said, there are ways around it or loopholes, but still technically illegal unless it's for a non-profit charity organization. Paypal has shut down accounts on quite a few rafflers leaving money in limbo for months.

• Everything I've read shows its legal as long as you follow certain rules but it seems everyone that has "hosted" interprets those rules differently.... https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675437297/facebook-raffle-rules
  main thing I gathered was as long its not on your personal page... paypal separating from ebay has definitely made paypal tighten down on certain rules and temp close accounts, i have heard of that but also heard of ppl eventually getting access to there funds no problem ie. GemMInt

That's the fourth time now you've referenced some dude's blog post on Wishpond.com as if that's any sort of factual evidence in support of their legality. It's not, dude. For starters, the wishpond link is referring to giveaways and promotions that involve no transfer of money for entry. As I've already told you, the second your chance of winning something involves a financial transaction, it becomes a lottery and without a license, it's illegal.

Also, did you miss this section of the wishpond page?:

"You must follow all raffle/lottery laws of your country/state/province. Remember, just because you’re on the internet doesn’t mean you are outside of law enforcement’s jurisdiction"

Hosting any sort of unlicensed raffle, giveaway, lottery, whatever you want to call it, is illegal at the federal level, the state level, and even at some county/municipal levels. This is not a matter of interpretation. It's established law, and has been for many years. You'll want to consider 18 US Code § 1955 - Prohibition of illegal gambling businesses. That's the national law that's in play, when there are no state, county or municipal laws on the books to supercede it.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1955

I've always been hesitant to participate in these raffles thinking they were scams. Probably because of the many "auctions" on Instagram where you could see sellers having their buddies bid books past their FMV.

Awesome slabs. You sir should play the lotto with that kind of luck.