Payments & revenue
Raffles
Run raffles — ticketed fundraising draws with numbered tickets, priced in your club currency, recorded under your own state, province or country, with a public results page.
The Raffles page lets your organisation run ticketed fundraising draws on its own payment rails. Supporters buy numbered tickets from a public raffle page on your site, numbers are allocated the moment payment lands, and when entries close you draw the winners with secure randomness — the results publish automatically and winners are emailed. You'll find it under Revenue → Raffles in the admin sidebar.
Who can use this
Raffles are a Pro plan feature, and club administrators and moderators manage them. You'll need online payments set up (see Revenue → Member payments) — raffle tickets always cost money, so there's no free path.
Check the rules first. Raffle and lottery rules depend on where you run the raffle. In Australia, the United States, Canada and the UK they're set by state, province or nation; in most other countries they're national. What needs a licence or permit (and from whom) depends on the place and the size of the raffle. A raffle can't open until you record where it runs and confirm your club holds any licence or permit those rules need. ClubHelix records what you tell it — it doesn't check the law for you. When in doubt, check your regulator's website or ask your association.
What's on the page
- A raffles list with each raffle's status (Draft, Open, Closed — draw pending, Drawn, Cancelled), tickets sold and close date.
- A New raffle button opening the setup form.
- Each raffle's own page: lifecycle actions (open / close / draw / cancel), the editable details, and every order with its status.
Step by step
Set up and open a raffle
Run a raffle asks five short questions.
- Open Revenue → Raffles and select New raffle.
- What's the raffle? — a name, the Web address (which fills itself in from the name), and what you're raising money for.
- What can people win? — the prizes, one per line, best first. That's the order they're drawn in.
- How much, and how many? — the currency (your club's own is picked for you), the price per ticket, how many tickets in total (blank for no limit), and the most one person can buy.
- When is it open? — when entries open (blank to open it yourself) and when they close.
- Where does it run, legally? — the state, province or country whose rules you follow, and a licence or permit number if you have one. Your own country is listed first.
- Click Create raffle. Then on the raffle's page, read the notice and select I confirm this — open for entries. That records your statement that your club holds any licence or permit it needs there. It's now live at
/raffles/<address>on your site.
Sell tickets (what supporters see)
- Supporters open the raffle page — no account needed — choose how many tickets, and pay through your provider's secure checkout.
- Their numbered tickets are allocated the moment payment lands and emailed on the receipt.
- The page shows a live count of tickets sold; entries close automatically at the close time (or sooner if the ticket cap sells out).
Draw the winners
- After entries close, open the raffle's admin page — a Draw the winners button appears.
- The draw picks one winning ticket per prize using cryptographic randomness. It cannot be re-run.
- The public page switches to the results (ticket numbers with first name + last initial), and each winner is emailed. Arranging prize hand-over stays with your club.
Refunds
Refund a raffle order from your payment provider like any other payment — the refund automatically voids that order's tickets so they can't win.
Field reference
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Prizes | One per line, best first. Line position = prize position (1st, 2nd, …). |
| Currency | What buyers pay in. Defaults to your club's currency; locks once a ticket is sold. |
| Ticket cap | Optional maximum tickets across the whole raffle. Blank = unlimited. |
| Max per order | How many tickets one buyer can grab in a single order. |
| Entries close | Hard cut-off. The raffle closes itself within about 15 minutes of this time. |
| State, province or country | Required before opening. Locks once the raffle is open. Shown on the public page. |
| Licence or permit number | Record it if you have one; it's shown on the public page. |
Tips & FAQ
- Which raffles need a permit? It depends on where you run it, so check your regulator for current rules. In Australia, larger raffles need a permit above a threshold that differs by state — NSW (Fair Trading), VIC (VGCCC), QLD (OLGR), SA (CBS), WA (Gaming Commission), TAS (Liquor & Gaming), ACT (Gambling & Racing Commission) and NT (Licensing NT) all publish their rules. ClubHelix records your statement; the legal responsibility sits with your club.
- Can a club outside Australia run a raffle? Yes. Choose your state, province or country, and the raffle is priced in your club's currency. Rules differ a lot between places (in the US, each state sets its own), so check yours first.
- Why can't I edit the price after sales start? The price, currency, caps and open time lock once tickets exist so every entrant bought under the same terms. Copy fields (title, description, prizes, close time) stay editable.
- Can members see their tickets? Yes — ticket numbers are on the purchase receipt, and signed-in buyers see their orders on their account page.
- What happens on a cancelled raffle? Entries stop immediately. Refund the paid orders from your provider — each refund voids its tickets.
- Is this gambling? Raffle-style fundraising is regulated but generally permitted for community organisations. ClubHelix deliberately supports straightforward raffles only — no gambling-style formats.