OC Fair plans to lobby state to let it hold ‘50-50’ raffles
Eyeing a new way to raise funds to support charities, Orange County Fair Board members voted Thursday to pursue legislative action that would allow the fairgrounds to host moneymaking raffles.
The eight board members at Thursday’s meeting — Ashleigh Aitken was absent — voted unanimously to lobby state lawmakers to authorize “50-50” raffles at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa.
The state authorized such drawings in limited cases last year.
“I’m not trying to open up the whole world,” said board member Stan Tkaczyk, who pitched the idea. “I’m just trying to make it available for the fairs in California.”
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Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill last year permitting nonprofit organizations established by or affiliated with select professional sports teams to hold 50-50 raffles, in which the holder of the winning ticket walks away with half the proceeds and the remainder goes to charity.
Raffles organized by other eligible private, nonprofit organizations, such as churches and service organizations, must earmark at least 90% of the gross receipts for charitable or other causes.
If the OC Fair & Event Center were allowed to stage 50-50 raffles, Tkaczyk said, proceeds could flow to charities such as the foundations set up to benefit the fairgrounds’ Centennial Farm and Heroes Hall veterans museum.
“We don’t know if we don’t try,” said Fair & Event Center Chief Executive Kathy Kramer. “Certainly I think it would be very advantageous to take this on, on behalf of the whole industry.”
Considering that the annual OC Fair typically draws more than 1.3 million visitors, such raffles could raise significant sums.
“A 50-50 raffle at fair time could generate a huge amount of money,” said board Vice Chairwoman Barbara Bagneris.
If state lawmakers don’t grant the Fair Board’s wish for new raffle regulations, the only alternative might be for the fairgrounds to attract a sports team, joked board member Douglas La Belle.
“That’s probably not going to happen,” he said.
Details about any potential legislation, such as whether raffles would be available only during fair time or throughout the year, would have to be hammered out in the future, officials said.
“It’s going to take some work to make it work out,” Tkaczyk said.
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Luke Money, lucas.money@latimes.com
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
