Utah Bans Charity Raffles and Bingo Statewide

whether called a lottery, raffle, or gift enterprise, or by whatever name it is known, language that reaches a $5 raffle ticket sold at a church fundraiser exactly as it reaches a numbers game. The same section defines "gambling" to include a lottery, so anything meeting the raffle/lottery test is automatically gambling. Section 76-9-1402 makes "participating in gambling" a crime outright: a first violation is a class B misdemeanor, a second is a class A misdemeanor. Neither section, nor any other provision in Part 14 (Gambling) of Title 76, Chapter 9, creates an exception for a charitable, religious, educational, or nonprofit sponsor, the statute doesn't ask who is running the raffle or where the proceeds go, only whether entrants paid for a chance at a prize.

This tracks Utah Constitution, Article VI, § 27, which the gambling code itself cross-references and which bars the Legislature from ever authorizing a lottery in the state. The only way a prize drawing avoids the ban is to be a genuine "sweepstakes", a promotion an individual "may enter with or without payment of any consideration" under § 76-9-1401(19), meaning a real no-purchase-necessary entry option has to exist alongside any donation-based tickets. This framework was renumbered from the old Title 76, Chapter 10, Part 11 (formerly §§ 76-10-1101, -1102) into Chapter 9, Part 14 by the 2025 General Session (effective May 7, 2025), then amended again effective May 6, 2026, without adding any charitable carve-out.

Participating in gambling, which covers running or entering a paid raffle or bingo game, is a class B misdemeanor on a first offense: up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine (Utah Code §§ 76-9-1402(3)(a), 76-3-204(2), 76-3-301). A second conviction is a class A misdemeanor, up to 364 days and a $2,500 fine. The statute doesn't distinguish organizers from players, anyone who "participates" is exposed, including whoever sells the tickets or runs the bingo cage.