Raffles are good because pro players getting more money = more tournaments and hype! Isn’t that what everyone wants!
You’re paying for the service, not the contest…
So I would think that it’s legal…
If it said 3 dollars to enter a contest… then there would probably be some legality problems…
The issue is whether that’s true. Three reasons to by Level Up Streams:
- Donating
- Icons
- Raffle
Now, #1 and #3 are basically the same in the eyes of the law (If you donate and only that donation will get you into a raffle, it’ll treat it as a raffle). So it’s arguable.
We don’t get much of anything back.
They get guaranteed money.
We get is a CHANCE at an $150 arcade stick.
You are not @raffle_monster. Go away.
Icons= (Guaranteed) Commercial benefit…
I really do think that consulting legal help would be a huge overreaction…
There’s a little raffle monster in all of us.
I know Ponder is doing his best to protect players from facing prosecution and from this scene suffering another black eye from video game “journalists” dying to up their website hits, but I don’t get the raffle hate from people.
If it’s illegal, fine. It’s great to help people realize when they can be prosecuted for doing something they don’t know is a crime. I just don’t understand all these viewers crying about raffles. First, they are voluntary. You don’t have to participate to watch the stream. Second, you know it’s not guaranteed for you to win. You get what you pay for. You can pay $150+ for a stick you’re guaranteed to get or you can put in $5 and have the chance to win the same stick. Life is a series of choices, you shouldn’t cry about the ones you make but learn from them. Last, you don’t have to watch the stream. Whenever I go to a stream and it’s just someone talking about a raffle, I leave. I’m not owed quality entertainment from their stream channels just like I don’t owe streamers my valuable viewing time.
What do you mean WE. If you don’t like it than don’t "donate."
Some top players use it for extra money but what about those players without sponsors that might be in school or something that desperately try to get to tournaments 
The LevelUp stuff is legal, because it’s a give away, not a raffle. It’s a perk of being a member of the community. It’s like the Monopoly game at McDonalds. “BUY OUR FOOD AND YOU MAY WIN SOMETHING!” You’re not paying money to win something, you’re paying money for the food, and you get a bonus of being able to win something. It’s a legitimate service. Do not think you can loop hole this and go "Oh they’re just donating me money and there’s a perk of it maybe winning something. Because there’s no legitimate service being purchased. LevelUp also is a registered business, they pay taxes and stuff like that.
My main concern about those raffles has been the taxes. I’m sure none of them pay a dime in taxes, and if it’s true that some of these players are making four-figure sums in raffles Uncle Sam won’t be too pleased not getting his cut.
I wouldn’t say that. There has been a situation in which the streamers were asking for “donations” in order to actually play games on the stream. Reach X amount of dollars to see two players do a first to whatever while they sit around, talk about random bullshit, and wait for the cash to roll in. I’m not really sure what ever came of that event, but I found it to be pretty disappointing as a long time community member.
I guess you could argue that you could just turn the stream off and don’t pay since the streamer doesn’t owe you anything at all, which is true, but that doesn’t change the fact that what they were trying to pull was pretty grimey/greedy.
Never donated.
Lemme switch that “We” to raffle participants.
If you’re in school you probably already have a job in the first place along with Fed/Local/Family financial aid.
They are just trying to make a buck, I wouldn’t demonize that. What’s wrong with holding a raffle for people to buy a chance to win a prize? If a local church does it, would you have an issue with it? The way they acquire the prizes isn’t my concern so long as they didn’t obtain it in an illegal manner. It’s also more community involved than just throwing it on eBay. But whatever, I never bothered entering a raffle because I never cared enough.
everyone whining for top players to “just get a job” instead of raffling are just jealous cause they suck ass at fighting games compared to the top players. if you don’t wanna donate then don’t donate. good shit stopping this though if it can get people in jail.
Yeah, I already took out another $50k loan. Guess I’ll take $600~ at a time to participate in a hobby I care about. Guess I’m a villain for asking for some help.
You know there’s an actual law that prevents them from forcing you to buy to participate in those games, right? That’s why they all say “NO PURCHASE NECESSARY?” You can order game pieces directly from McDonald’s or whatever to play McD’s Monopoly. It’s not as clear-cut as you make it sound.
I really disagree. If you’re running something as big as Level Up, Next Level or FGTV, you really really really should consult a lawyer before proceeding with something like this. If’s a part of their business model, they should know going in whether or not it’s actually, you know, legal. You should also at least be running the business under a separate legal entity (usually an LLC) and adhering to all the requirements to maintain the corporate veil (a business-only bank account, recording minutes of board meetings, etc.). After going through all that crap, sending an e-mail to a lawyer for a few billable hours is a walk in the park. (edit: I actually don’t know exactly what LU, NL, and FGTV are doing to raise money. I’m just saying that if they are doing anything that smells like a raffle, they should probably call a lawyer. My 2 cents, at any rate).
If you’re a random guy auctioning off your old stick when you upgrade to a new one, you probably don’t need a lawyer, but if that’s all we had here there wouldn’t be NEARLY as many auctions as there are now.
People like throw money at things that entertains them. Some people like to tell others how to spend their money.