Do we need a permit?
Raffles are “community gaming” in NSW. A raffle run by a school, P&C or other not-for-profit needs no permit or authority as long as the total prize value stays under $30,000. An Easter basket raffle, a Christmas hamper raffle, a meat-tray-a-week — all comfortably inside the line.
At $30,000 of prizes and above you are in art-union territory, which does need an authority. School raffles almost never get there.
Numbered tickets are not a nice-to-have
This surprises a lot of committees: in NSW, numbered tickets are not just good practice — they are what legally makes it a raffle. The Community Gaming Regulation defines a draw lottery as numbered tickets sold to people, with winning numbers drawn to match them. The Department of Education’s guidance for schools says the same thing in practical terms: tickets should carry consecutive numbers from one series, with the same number on the ticket and its stub — and it is explicit that these requirements apply to P&C fundraising.
You also need to be able to show what happened afterwards: what was sold, what it raised, what the prizes were and who won them. That is the record-keeping side of the rules, and it is much easier to satisfy when the tickets themselves are the record.
This is exactly the boring part the Studio automates: every ticket carries a unique consecutive number on both halves, numbering continues across batches and across raffles so a number is never reused, and your account keeps a permanent history of every run — which raffle, which numbers, printed when. Compliance is the default setting, not a checklist.
The rules that do apply
- The proceeds must go to the cause. At least 40% of gross proceeds must reach the benefiting organisation — for a P&C raffle with donated prizes, you will clear that without trying.
- Sell numbered physical tickets — the classic paper raffle is exactly what the rules picture. Every ticket must have the same chance.
- Tickets should identify the raffle. Who is running it, the ticket price, what the prize is, and when and where it is drawn. (The Studio puts all of this on every ticket automatically.)
- Draw it as advertised. Draw on the stated date, notify winners, and record who won — keeping the stub makes that easy.
- Keep proper records. Tickets sold, money in, expenses, prizes out, winners’ names. File them with the P&C’s other financial records. Numbered books make this a five-minute job: the numbers do the counting.
Prizes
Donated hampers, vouchers and goods are all fine. A few things cannot be raffle prizes in NSW — the notable ones for schools: no firearms, and prizes must not be primarily alcohol (alcohol can be part of a prize, like a hamper, within limits). When in doubt, leave it out of the basket.
Where the numbers help
Most of the record-keeping above collapses into one habit: numbered tickets in numbered books. Book 7 went to Mrs K’s class; tickets 121–140 came back with $38 — you can see at a glance what is sold, what is missing, and what the barrel should hold on draw day.
The fine print: this is general information for school fundraisers, not legal advice. The rules live in the NSW Community Gaming Regulation — check the NSW Fair Trading community gaming pages for your exact case, and other states have their own rules.