How to Enter Local Raffles in Aurora, Colorado Without Scams
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Use license details, complete rules, and direct sponsor contact to screen Aurora prize drawings before paying.
To enter a local raffle in Aurora safely, buy tickets only from an eligible nonprofit with a Colorado bingo-raffle license. Read the rules, verify the license details, and contact the sponsor through its own website before paying. A charitable raffle is a paid, chance-based prize drawing that raises money for a qualifying nonprofit.
It differs from a free sweepstakes, even though both offer a chance to win.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on August 25, 2026.
Who may run a Colorado raffle?
Individuals and for-profit businesses cannot legally conduct raffles in Colorado. The Colorado Secretary of State explains that even a small raffle requires a license, and the nonprofit must have existed continuously for at least five years to qualify. Ask for the sponsoring nonprofit's full name and Colorado raffle-license number.
If the seller identifies only a business, individual, social-media account, or informal group, do not buy a ticket.
What should the rules disclose?
Require written rules before entering. Colorado's Planning a Raffle guide shows the essential information included on the state's sample raffle ticket: Check that these details agree across the rules, ticket, sales page, and sponsor's website. Do not rely solely on a text, direct message, flyer, or payment request.
- Sponsoring nonprofit's name
- Colorado license number
- Ticket price
- Prize description
- Drawing date and location
How should you enter?
Start at the nonprofit's independently located website rather than following a message link. Find the raffle rules there, confirm that sales remain open, and use only the entry method the sponsor describes. Before paying: Buying a licensed raffle ticket pays for a chance to win, not a certain prize.
A ticket purchase should never be described as guaranteeing a reward.
- Confirm the organization is a nonprofit, not an individual or for-profit seller.
- Match the sponsor's name and license number to the rules.
- Review the ticket price, prize, deadline, drawing details, and attendance requirement.
- Save the rules, ticket confirmation, and payment record.
- Treat a missing license number or incomplete rules as a reason to stop.
A documented Aurora example—and its limit
Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation documented an Aurora-based charitable raffle for 2026. Its rules identified the 501(c)(3) sponsor at Anschutz and listed Colorado Raffle License No. 2026-20771.
That raffle is not a current opportunity on August 25, 2026. Its published rules set May 8, 2026, as the final sales deadline and May 20, 2026, as the final drawing date. An old page, ticket image, or social post does not establish that entry remains available.
Raffles, sweepstakes, and prize-payment warnings
A paid charitable raffle is different from a sweepstakes. The Federal Trade Commission says a legitimate sweepstakes is free and chance-based, so a demand to pay for entry or better odds is a warning sign when an offer is labeled a sweepstakes. If someone says you won, do not pay "taxes," shipping, processing, or another fee to receive the prize.
Do not provide bank, card, or Social Security information to claim it. Contact the named organization through a website or phone number you locate independently. Stop if the supposed prize representative demands a wire, payment-app transfer, gift card, cash, or cryptocurrency.