Besides peanuts and Cracker Jacks, sports fans are buying 50/50 raffle tickets at a growing number of sports events. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the latest NFL team to offer the raffles during home games. Half of the amount collected during each game goes to the Buccaneers Care Foundation benefiting young people and veterans. One lucky fan gets the other half. Given that 40,000- 50,000 football fans filled Raymond James Stadium on any given game day, that fortunate fan could take home tens of thousands of dollars.
Bucs Chief Operating Officer Brian Ford said, “The 50/50 raffle concept has been gaining popularity across the country in recent years and we view it as an opportunity to help raise additional funds while adding to the in-stadium fan experience. The funds which are generated each home game during the 2014 season will add to the significant resources we have already dedicated to Bay area schools, students and military support.”
Bucs spokesman Nelson Luis said the first game’s jackpot totaled just over $23,000. The second game’s total was nearly $46,000, due to a long rain delay in the first half. “The program just started with our season opener two weeks ago but we have already seen it gain traction as evidenced by the large increase in proceeds and prize money from week one to week two,” Luis said.
Recently the Buccaneers Care Foundation ran ads for raffle vendors, who must be “high-energy, motivated sellers to join our 50/50 raffle sales team for the 2014 season. Candidates must be willing to work nights, weekends and holidays if necessary and must be able to walk up and down numerous steps and long distances in parking lot and stadium grounds.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team also offers 50/50 raffles during home games at the Amalie Arena. Spokesman Bill Wickett said, “We’ve done raffles that took in more than $30,000.” He said during the 2013-14 season the 50/50 raffles raised $450,000 for more than 60 charities.
The Tampa Bay Rays also offer 50/50 raffles at each of their 81 home games at Tropicana Field. Proceeds go to the nonprofit Ted Williams Museum and the Rays Baseball Foundation, said spokesman Rick Vaughn. The Jacksonville Jaguars also hold a 50/50 raffle during home games to benefit the Jaguars Foundation. The take averages around $7,000 per game. The Miami Dolphins’ raffles benefit Miami Dolphins Foundation.
Wickett attributes the 50/50 raffles’ growth partly to the electronic process that updates totals in real time, so game attendees can monitor how much they could win. That fuels the ticket-buying frenzy, he said.
“It’s huge in Canada. I think hockey brought it from Canada to the States,” Wickett said. During the 2013 Grey Cup, the Super Bowl of Canada’s professional football league, more than $500,000 was collected from about 50,000 fans and an Ottawa man pocketed a record $257,087, according to Pointbreak5050, which operates 50/50 raffles for several Canadian sports team.
In Florida, the raffles are raising concerns at the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling. Help-line Director Brian Kongsvik said, “It’s interesting with pro sports, they always are touting that gambling shouldn’t take place. You hear it all the time about pro athletes gambling, how bad that is. This sends a mixed message about that.”
Kongsvik noted that Florida’s major college football teams and pro teams now partner with the Florida Lottery, with five drawings between October and December offering game tickets, team gear, next-year’s season tickets and more.
Kongsvik stated there may be more bettors at a football game than among the general population, since many fans participate in fantasy football leagues and weekly office pools. “For individuals in recovery, those who have a gambling issue or those who have a propensity to develop a gambling addiction, the raffles could be a problem. The whole atmosphere is pretty ripe for somebody with a problem to stumble,” Kongsvik said.
He said his organization raises official objections if gambling operations are against the law, but the raffles are legal. However, he noted, they still are a form of gambling. “There’s chance involved. Any time people put something down on an uncertain outcome, it’s gambling. If it was illegal we would speak out against it. If it’s legal, we are just here to increase awareness, to let people know about it. We are a neutral organization.”
