SB 5443
In CommitteeSenate
Fund-raising events
Concerning requirements for fund-raising events of bona fide charitable or nonprofit organizations.
This status may be delayed. See Action History below for the latest updates.
How does a bill become law?
- Introduced: The bill is filed and assigned a number.
- Committee: A subject-matter committee holds hearings, takes public testimony, and decides whether to advance the bill.
- Floor Vote: The full chamber (House or Senate) debates and votes on the bill.
- Opposite Chamber: The bill repeats the committee and floor vote process in the other chamber.
- Governor: The Governor reviews the bill and decides whether to sign or veto it.
- Signed: The bill has been signed into law.
AI Analysis
This bill expands the types and scale of fundraising activities that Washington’s nonprofit and charitable organizations—and financial institutions—can legally conduct without a state license. It raises ticket price and revenue limits for standard raffles, adds new rules for high-value 'enhanced raffles' for specific nonprofits, and clarifies rules for promotional contests that don’t require payment to enter.
- Raises the raffle ticket price limit from $100 to $250, and increases the annual gross revenue cap for license-exempt raffles from $5,000 to $20,000.
- Allows qualifying nonprofits to hold raffles, bingo, and amusement games up to four times per year (up from two), for up to 12 consecutive days each, without a state license—provided revenue caps are met ($20,000 for raffles, $10,000 for bingo/amusement).
- Creates a new category called 'enhanced raffles' for nonprofits serving people with intellectual disabilities, allowing up to three raffles per year per region (east and west Washington), with grand prizes up to $10 million, and special features like early-bird, referral, and multi-ticket drawings.
- Permits promotional contests of chance (e.g., sweepstakes tied to savings accounts or donations) where participants are not required to pay or purchase anything to enter—though extra entries may be offered for purchases, as long as a free entry method is provided.
- Removes the requirement that only organization members may participate in certain raffles, as long as membership was not tied to raffle ticket purchase.
Who is affected
- Bona fide charitable or nonprofit organizations — Nonprofit and charitable organizations that want to hold raffles, bingo, amusement games, or promotional contests without needing a state license—provided they meet specific activity limits and membership rules.
- Organizations focused on intellectual disabilities — Organizations serving people with intellectual disabilities that seek to run large-scale raffles with higher prize limits and special features like early-bird or referral drawings.
- Financial institutions — Financial institutions (e.g., banks, credit unions) that want to run promotional contests tied to savings accounts, without requiring a purchase to enter.
- General public / participants — General public members who participate in raffles or contests—now able to join without needing to be members in advance for certain raffles, and protected from being required to pay to enter promotional contests.
Pro/Con Analysis
Stronger case for benefits
Potential Benefits (5)
Increases fundraising flexibility for nonprofits, enabling them to generate more revenue to support community programs — especially beneficial for small and mid-sized nonprofits that rely on events to fund services like food banks, shelters, and youth programs.
Business & EmploymentPeopleRef: Sec. 2 & Sec. 3 (ticket price raised to $250; annual raffle revenue cap raised to $20,000; bingo/amusement cap to $10,000; activities increased to 4x/year)Expands participation in raffles to non-members, promoting inclusivity and civic engagement — particularly helpful for community-based organizations that serve diverse populations and want to engage broader support without gatekeeping.
Rights & LibertiesPeopleRef: Sec. 2 (membership rule clarified: membership not tied to ticket purchase)Prohibits requiring payment to enter promotional contests, protecting consumers — especially low-income individuals — from deceptive practices where ‘free entry’ is offered but effectively blocked by purchase requirements.
consumer protectionPeopleRef: Sec. 5 (promotional contests of chance with free-entry guarantee)Creates a new, high-capacity fundraising tool for nonprofits serving people with intellectual disabilities, potentially enabling major investments in services, housing, and advocacy — though access may be limited to larger organizations.
HealthcarePeopleRef: Sec. 4 (enhanced raffles for disability-serving nonprofits with $10M prize cap and special drawings)Allows credit unions and banks to run promotional contests tied to savings accounts, potentially encouraging financial inclusion and long-term saving behavior — though the benefit is skewed toward institutions with existing customer bases.
Business & EmploymentLean peopleRef: Sec. 5 (financial institutions may run savings-account-linked contests)
Potential Concerns (5)
Increases fundraising capacity for nonprofits, enabling them to raise more funds for operations and programs without state licensing overhead — but this primarily benefits larger, more organized nonprofits with staff to manage expanded activities, while small grassroots groups may lack capacity to take advantage.
Business & EmploymentRef: Sec. 2 & Sec. 3 (raffle/bingo/amusement revenue caps raised to $20,000/$10,000; activities increased to 4x/year)Eliminates mandatory 5-day advance notice to local police agencies for bingo, raffles, and amusement games, reducing administrative burden on local law enforcement — but this also removes a low-cost oversight layer that helped prevent illegal activity and ensured compliance with local zoning or noise ordinances.
Local GovernmentRef: Sec. 3 (removal of local police notice requirement)While the bill prohibits requiring payment to enter promotional contests, it allows extra entries for purchases — a structure that can disproportionately benefit financial institutions by encouraging deposit retention while giving the illusion of fairness, and may mislead low-income participants into thinking they must spend to improve odds.
consumer protectionPeopleRef: Sec. 5 (promotional contests of chance with no-consideration requirement)Authorizes large-scale raffles with prizes up to $10 million and third-party vendors (including out-of-state call centers), raising concerns about fraud, money laundering, or consumer exploitation — especially given audit and compliance requirements are delegated to commission rulemaking rather than statutory safeguards.
Public SafetyRef: Sec. 4 (enhanced raffles capped at $10M prize, 3/year per region, with call centers and consultants)While intended to benefit disability-serving nonprofits, the bill’s structure — including $500 ticket cap, outsourced call centers, and consultant-dependent operations — likely favors well-resourced organizations over smaller, community-based providers, limiting equitable access to the enhanced raffle authority.
HealthcareLean peopleRef: Sec. 4 (enhanced raffles for organizations serving people with intellectual disabilities)
Who Is Most Affected
Smaller, community-based nonprofits with limited staff may benefit from increased fundraising limits but may lack capacity to manage expanded events or comply with new audit and reporting requirements for enhanced raffles.
Large, well-resourced nonprofits (especially those with development staff, legal counsel, and call center contracts) stand to gain significantly from higher revenue caps and enhanced raffle authority — particularly those serving people with disabilities.
Financial institutions (especially credit unions and regional banks) gain a new tool to incentivize savings account retention, but must comply with restrictions on internet-based contests and no-consideration entry.
Low- and moderate-income participants benefit from stronger consumer protections in promotional contests, but may be less able to take advantage of raffles with $250 ticket prices or $500 enhanced raffle tickets.
Local governments lose a minor but useful compliance check (5-day police notice), reducing administrative burden but also removing a low-cost oversight tool for detecting illegal activity or zoning violations.