Hawaii Statewide Rule

Hawaii Charitable Raffle and Bingo Ban

Heavy RestrictionsApplies statewide across Hawaii (2026)

Key Facts

Governing law: HRS § 712-1220, Chapter 712 gambling offenses
Charitable exemption: None: no carve-out for nonprofits, churches, or schools
Base offense: Promoting gambling 2nd degree, a class C felony
Felony threshold: Over $1,000 in ticket sales in any 7 days
Escalated offense: Promoting gambling 1st degree, a class B felony
Only legal option: Free drawings with no purchase or entry fee
Enforcing agencies: County police departments and the Attorney General

Last verified: August 21, 2026

Summary

Hawaii has no charitable-gaming exemption: HRS § 712-1220 defines any paid-entry raffle, bingo game, or drawing as a "lottery," and Chapter 712 excludes only bona fide business contracts and insurance agreements, nothing for nonprofits, churches, or schools. A nonprofit that charges even one dollar per ticket is running an illegal lottery under state law, and once proceeds exceed $1,000 in a seven-day period, HRS § 712-1221 elevates the operation to a class B felony.

"Lottery" means a gambling scheme in which: (a) The players pay or agree to pay something of value for chances, represented and differentiated by numbers or by combinations of numbers or by some other medium, one or more of which chances are to be designated the winning ones; and (b) The winning chances are to be determined by a drawing or by some other method based on an element of chance; and (c) The holders of the winning chances are to receive something of value.

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Full Breakdown

Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 712, Part III bans nearly all gambling outright, and the legislature carved out no charitable exception when it adopted this Model Penal Code-based scheme. " A church raffle, PTA 50/50 drawing, or club prize wheel that charges even a $1 ticket meets all three elements. The same section's "Gambling" definition carries only two carve-outs, bona fide business transactions valid under contract law, and agreements to compensate for loss, meaning indemnity, guaranty, and life, health, or accident insurance contracts, and neither reaches a nonprofit fundraiser.

Running the raffle exposes the organizer to HRS § 712-1222, promoting gambling in the second degree, a class C felony, the moment the person negligently advances or profits from the gambling activity. If ticket sales clear $1,000 in any rolling seven-day period, § 712-1221(1)(c) reclassifies the identical conduct as promoting gambling in the first degree, a class B felony. Hawaii's Department of the Attorney General and county police departments are the enforcing agencies; there is no state gaming commission or charitable-gaming license because the legislature has never authorized one.

Only a drawing with no entry fee, ticket purchase, minimum donation, or other "something of value" changes hands escapes the "Lottery" definition entirely and falls outside Chapter 712's gambling offenses altogether. Hawaii and Utah remain the only two states with no legal lottery, casino, card room, or nonprofit-gaming exception of any kind, and that gap runs directly through this definitional section rather than through any separate charitable-gaming statute.

Violations & Penalties

A raffle, bingo night, or 50/50 drawing that charges for entry is an unlicensed lottery under HRS § 712-1220, and running it is promoting gambling: a class C felony under § 712-1222 for ordinary proceeds, escalating to a class B felony under § 712-1221(1)(c) once collections top $1,000 in any seven-day period. County police departments and the state Attorney General's office investigate; a conviction carries a felony record and potential imprisonment, not a civil fine or license revocation, because Hawaii has no civil licensing track for charitable gaming at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a nonprofit in Hawaii legally run a raffle?

Not if there's any cost to enter. HRS § 712-1220 defines "lottery" as any scheme where players pay for a chance decided by a drawing, and Chapter 712 exempts only bona fide business contracts and insurance agreements: nothing for charities, churches, or schools. Selling raffle tickets, even at $1 each, meets every element of the definition and exposes the organizer to a promoting-gambling charge.

What happens if a raffle brings in more than $1,000?

HRS § 712-1221(1)(c) makes it a class B felony to receive more than $1,000 connected to a lottery or mutuel scheme in any seven-day period. Below that threshold the conduct is still illegal as promoting gambling in the second degree under § 712-1222, a class C felony, so there is no dollar amount at which a paid-entry raffle becomes lawful in Hawaii.

Is a free prize drawing legal in Hawaii?

Yes. HRS § 712-1220's "lottery" definition requires that players "pay or agree to pay something of value" for a chance. A drawing that charges no entry fee, requires no purchase, and asks no minimum donation never satisfies that element, so it falls outside Chapter 712's gambling offenses entirely regardless of who sponsors it.

Does Hawaii license bingo halls or charitable gaming nights?

No. There is no state gaming commission, no charitable-gaming permit, and no statutory carve-out anywhere in HRS Chapter 712 for bingo, raffles, or similar fundraisers. Hawaii and Utah are the only two states that authorize no form of legal gambling, so any paid-entry game of chance, however small or well-intentioned, is prosecuted the same as commercial gambling.

Sources

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