Keith, it is not illegal for residents of my state and others to enter the raffle. It is illegal for entities to OFFER to sell tickets in these states. For instance, in my state it is illegal to conduct a raffle unless the entity conducting it is a bonafide nonprofit, meets approved purposes, and obtains a raffle license in certain circumstances. Further, conducting raffles over the internet is itself reported by our gambling commission to be a violation of the US federal wire wager act, and possibly other federal laws. I spoke with gambling commission staff and then put the question to Rafall about its compliance with federal and state laws, and heard nothing back in weeks.
@Rick127
Here’s what it says on Raffall 's website about being legal
Are the Raffles Legal
Yes! We’re the first platform of its kind to be approved by Facebook, Apple and Google and although we often use the word ‘raffle’, we’re actually a ‘prize competition’ platform as each entrant is required to answer a multiple choice question or puzzle to enter.
Besides only residence of Washington State have to follow state laws. Seems Facebook, Apple and Google are OK with it and they are all American Companies.
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As @DavidP stated, we have reported it to Justin & team and they are going to look at this and make an appropriate announcement when they can.
I think that all can rest assured that everything is legal and above board.
The explanation by the company falls short in defending the legality of raffles, or as they now decided to refer to them as “prize competitions,” which may be merely a ruse to attempt to sidestep gambling laws. The smartest thing the Justin team can do is inquire about the legality of the raffle with the appropriate authorities, which in the UK is the Gambling Commission, and find out if this and future raffles fall within national and international requirements. You can learn more here, one of many websites that discuss the issue: Prize draws and competitions – don’t gamble on the rules and regulations | Harrison Clark Rickerbys
Since there seems to a consensus in this comments section to merely rely upon Raffall’s statements about its business practices, I may make my own inquiry with the Gambling Commission about Raffall, and in the US, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the agency that addresses possible internet gambling violations. Personally, I would hope Justin just gets the raffle completed, and any indication of legal violations guides decisions on conducting raffles in the future.
IANAL, but I have, on the other hand, been paying attention to the legal issues around “platforms” for the last 10 years or so because it’s an industry I work in.
I would suggest you look up Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act 1996, which, in essence, states that platforms (like Facebook, Web hosts, or even this forum which is a platform for discussion) are not legally liable for the use of those platforms or any content published on them.
This has been backed up by numerous cases relating, specifically, to gambling and state-gambling laws including Coffee vs Google, and Apple Inc. App Store Simulated Casino-Style Games Litigation , Case No. 5:21-md-02985-EJD; In Re: Google Play Store Simulated Casino-Style Games Litigation , Case No. 5:21-md-03001-EJD; and Wilkinson, et al. v. Facebook Inc. , Case No. 5:21-cv-02777-EJD
In all of these arguments, the claim that the platform provider should be responsible for the legality of the content in a specific jurisdiction was rejected.
As I said, IANAL but I have been paying attention. It seems clear to me that Rafall are a platform provider and are, therefore, under the US Law protected by Section 230.
It should be noted that neither Raffall, nor Justin are “offering” tickets in those states: they are offering them globally to those communities where it is legal to take part. It is up to you to check the T&Cs and to judge whether it’s legal in your jurisdiction. It is not the job of Rafall or Justin to police all of the thousands of jurisdictions around the world to assess whether residents of that jurisdiction should see the fact of the competition taking place, or to make a judgement on whether individual users should take part.
It is also the antithesis of Internet governance models.
Consider a hypothetical situation:
A US State, lets call it Texoma, decides that llamas are bad, and that publishing pictures of llamas is a crime in that state (yes, it’s contrived, but it’s valid as an analogy).
Meanwhile, a Dutch company called Llamas4U creates a website, including an eCommerce shop where you can buy premium photos of star llamas, on the Internet hosting platform GoDaddy.
They are offering these Llama photos globally through the Internet. Because the Internet is, largely, a globally available system, residents of Texoma can get to the Llamas4U website and, theoretically, order photos. That does not constitute Llamas4U offering photos illegally in Texoma; it is a consequence of the Internet being global.
It also does not mean that Godaddy are liable for the legality of the Llamas4U website in Texoma or that they should police it based on local laws; GoDaddy are a platform provider under Section 230.
Now, Texoma could arrange for the Llamas4U site to be blocked for its residents and, that is entirely up to Texoma. Many regions have geoblocked content they deem to be illegal or offensive by local standards. But that sort of geo-blocking is notoriously hard to do, especially down to state level, and is easily circumvented.
At the end of the day, its ridiculous and impractical for Internet platforms, especially smaller platforms like Raffall, to police and regulate their members based on local laws.
Yes, there are some local UK laws that need to be considered by Justin’s team, but that is an entirely different matter.
Meanwhile, enjoy this photo of a llama†:
† Not suitable for residents of Texoma.
Cheers,
Keith
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I want premium Llama photos please.
Sign me up!
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More Llamas! More Llamas!
… it’s sad someone thinks the entire world should obey the laws of whatever gambling commission from wherever they live is relevant 
Oh btw, the guitar, my odds are shrinking so if people could stop entering that would be great…. 
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Greetings,
Thank you for your message.
I understand that you are concerned about the legality of Raffall in your location. Raffall is currently legal in the UK and many other countries around the world. However, it is possible that there may be certain areas where it is not allowed by law. This actually applies to any other giveaway we run, even if it’s free to enter it.
We encourage you to refer to Raffall’s terms and conditions, as well as the laws and regulations in your area, to learn more about its legality where you are located. This will help you determine whether or not you should take part in the competition.
Thank you for being so interested in this matter. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at hello@justinguitar.com.
Best regards,
Laryne
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His daughter’s name is Vivi?
Well he does say that… so I assume that’s right.
Looks like only 1 day to go now though!
Congratulations to the Winner!!!
Who, once again, is not me 
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Thank you Toby, for the education on Llamas. I had no idea! 
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