From the Hotline

By Teri Henning
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association

Q: Our local fire company wants to advertise a gun raffle. Any problems?

A: There are a number of legal issues to consider before running this ad. 

First, an organization can only run a “small game of chance” if it has the necessary license from its municipality (usually issued by the county treasurer). Under the Small Games of Chance Act, only certain groups can obtain such a license, including nonprofit charitable, religious, fraternal and veterans organizations. See 10 P.S. 311 et seq.

Because the U.S. Postal Regulations prohibit the mailing of materials relating to unlawful lotteries, a newspaper that advertises an unlawful game of chance could jeopardize its periodicals mailing privileges. For that reason, we recommend that you verify that the advertiser has obtained the necessary license from its municipality before accepting raffle or other small games of chance ads.

With respect to raffling guns, there are, obviously, additional legal and policy concerns. First, there are a number of federal and state laws that relate to the sale and transfer of weapons. The laws are much stricter with respect to hand guns, or any weapon that would not qualify as a “long gun.” Certain individuals are prohibited from owning guns. Transfers of non-long guns can only be made at a licensed gun dealer. 

More fundamentally, there is some risk of a personal injury lawsuit as a result of a gun incident. So far, however, these lawsuits (as related to ads that merely identify specific firearms for sale) have not been successful against publishers. 

Finally, there are a number of state rules relating to small games of chance. There are prize limits, limits on the number of raffles or other events that one organization can conduct, and advertising rules. The law as written prohibits a club or other person from advertising the prizes or their dollar value. Although this prohibition raises constitutional issues, an advertisement for a raffle should not include the specific prizes to be awarded or their dollar value.

The regulations relating to small games of chance can be found at http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/061/chapter901/chap901toc.html

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