State Law Keeps Non-Profits From Selling Raffle Tickets Online In Cashless Society

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Some Pennsylvania non-profit organizations, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, say state law is behind the times when it comes to their fund-raising.

It all comes down to how you donate to your favorite charity.

Each year, the Pittsburgh Symphony organizes a special raffle with a $5,000 cash prize.

"This is our largest fundraiser," Diane Unkovic, president of the Symphony Association, told KDKA on Monday. "It's been around for 50 years."

Unkovic said an outdated state law prevents non-profits from selling raffle tickets in today's cash-less society.

That's right: No credit cards, Venmo, PayPal, or other payment apps.  It's cash or check only, and it's the law.

"Non-profits like us can only accept cash payments by check," Unkovic said. "And my daughter, my son, and no one I know who is under 50 has a checkbook anymore."

Moreover, many now want to buy raffle tickets online with credit cards and mobile payment services but are not allowed in Pennsylvania.

"The law is so antiquated when it comes to this, and it really needs to be updated," Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein said.

Many non-profits like volunteer fire companies, churches, and youth sports teams are affected, Weinstein said.

"On an average year, Jon, we will issue 1,000 special raffle permits and small games of chance licenses in Allegheny County," he said.

Efforts to modernize the way to buy raffle tickets have stalled in Harrisburg, said Pennsylvania Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Fayette County. Warner has a bill to correct some of the problems.

"There is huge pushback from the casino industry and the Department of Revenue," Warner said.

Unlike non-profits, online casinos do get to use mobile payment services, Warner said, while the state worries about lost lottery revenue. But Warner wants equal treatment, saying the pandemic hurt non-profits.

"You can still gamble at a casino online," he said. "There's nothing preventing any of that, but our volunteer fire departments and non-profit organizations were absolutely devastated."

"If you can gamble online, you should be able to buy a raffle ticket for a charity online," Weinstein said.

The House and Senate each have passed different watered-down versions of a bill on raffles by non-profits that expire at the end of the pandemic.

Warner said he hopes a stronger, permanent solution will be added before final passage of a bill.