Wisconsin Bingo and Raffle Licensing Law

Wisconsin treats gambling as a Class B misdemeanor under Wis. Stat. § 945.02, and Wis. Stat. § 945.01(5)(am) confirms that 'lottery', the trigger for that ban, 'does not include bingo or a raffle conducted under ch. 563.' That carve-out only protects games run under a license from the Division of Gaming, part of the Department of Administration, which chapter 563 defines as the licensing 'department.'

For bingo, § 563.11(1) lets any bona fide religious, charitable, service, fraternal or veterans organization, or any organization with federal or state tax-deductible-contribution status, apply for a license. § 563.13(4) sets the fee at $20 for each bingo occasion the license covers, plus a separate $10 annual fee for the member designated to oversee proper use of the gross receipts.

For raffles, § 563.907(1) opens eligibility to the same class of local organizations, so long as the group has existed at least one year before applying (or is chartered by a parent organization that has existed three years). § 563.91(1) caps a licensed organization at 365 raffles, or one calendar raffle, per year. The license costs $50 under § 563.92(2), runs 12 months, and the department must issue it within 30 days of a complete application, an application not denied in that window is deemed approved. Incomplete filings draw a 15-day defect notice. Licenses split into Class A (single-container and calendar raffles, tickets sellable across multiple days) and Class B (multi-container raffles, tickets sold only the day of the drawing or at the event). A narrow carve-out in § 563.908 lets a raffle run without any license if tickets go only to the organization's own members and the prize is capped at $500 and equals half the ticket proceeds.

Running bingo or a raffle without the required chapter 563 license forfeits the § 945.01(5)(am) exception, exposing the operator to the underlying gambling misdemeanor under § 945.02. Chapter 563 also punishes its own violations directly: § 563.73 fines bingo violations up to $10,000 and 9 months' imprisonment for the most serious provisions, or up to $5,000 and 90 days for others, plus a possible $10,000 civil forfeiture; § 563.99 fines raffle violations up to $1,000 and 30 days.