MacRaffle Under Investigation

arn · Sep 29, 2002, 10:20 PM

Kevin Black wrote us with the following:

If you go to the MacRaffle website, http://www.macraffle.com, you will notice that a message comes up instead of the site. Seems the Ohio Attorney General's office is investigating MacRaffle under gambling accusations.

No one was arrested and the site owner seems to be upfront and honest. He\'s obviously trying to appear upfront and honest. However, for those that felt it could have been a shady operation, it appears the Ohio AG is going to determine it without doubt.

So, those that felt it was could either be vindicated or ashamed. Only time will tell.

SilvorX · Sep 29, 2002, 11:31 PM

i remember going to that site once...never really thought of it as a scam or anything...

happygoodies · Sep 29, 2002, 11:38 PM

It was obviously online gambling, which is banned in Ohio as far as I know, so they're clearly guilty unless there are other facts =( As for whether they were "legit" in that they randomly drew winners and sent out prizes, I think that's besides the point.

It sounds like some guy got a get-rich-quick idea and put it on the Internet without realizing he could get into a lot of trouble.

If anyone could do this, you'd see a million of these raffles online. What easier way to get money than to buy iPods for $300 each and sell 1000 raffle tickets for it for $1 each?

arn · Sep 30, 2002, 12:13 AM

yeah - there are very clear rules about contests vs gambling.

I ran a contest site for a while... and while I'm not a lawyer, there are some basic rules...

In general... contest need to be free to enter - you can't have a purchase required. (this is called gambling). Unless there is a significant skill element involved, in which case you can charge entry fees.

Certain organizations are exempt, I believe... such as non-profits (churchs perhaps)

Looks like he's trying to utlize the Skill element - but in the few times I'd read that site, i never knew there was a skill element to it.

arn

dricci · Sep 30, 2002, 12:38 AM

The Government - Protecting You from Yourself, Everyday!

happygoodies · Sep 30, 2002, 12:38 AM

I think by "skill" he meant "skill at your job" and through that "skill" a commisurate amount of "money" to give him and win prizes =(

funkywhat2 · Oct 2, 2002, 09:19 PM

didn't they give the after tax profits to charity? why would that be illegal?

Evergreen · Oct 2, 2002, 10:47 PM

Quote:

...Seems the Ohio Attorney General's office is investigating MacRaffle under gambling accusations.

That's right kids, gambling is wrong unless you are a state government, in which case it's fine!

Moxiemike · Oct 3, 2002, 12:24 AM

Quote:

From Mr. Macraffle.

It is the Ohio Attorney General's position that I was operating an illegal gambling operation from my home and on the Internet. This is not the case. My position is that I was operating a skill contest at my site and had given my site a feeling similar to gambling for marketing and entertainment purposes only.

At the risk of sounding like an ass, what kind of skill does it take to say "i want an iPod. I'm buying 10 tickets to win an iPod."

Maybe the skill to click a mouse or type a URL? This kinda makes this guy seem :GUILTY:

I don't know all the facts... but as Shakespeare said, and from reading his site:

"Thou doth protest too much"

card-wheels · Nov 15, 2007, 11:43 AM

Very nice forum, I'm an italian reader and your english is simple and easily understanded from me :-)

Regards,
Mario

Unspeaked · Nov 15, 2007, 04:07 PM

The "skill" was being able to spot scams.

The more skill you had, the less likely you were to lose money...

irmongoose · Nov 15, 2007, 04:20 PM

irmongoose

Peace · Nov 15, 2007, 04:22 PM

You have a coma at the end of that link arn.
It goes nowhere.

WildCowboy · Nov 15, 2007, 04:26 PM

I think we can safely put this five-year old thread to bed.

The amazing thing is that their site is still there with a "Returning Soon" label.

Sep 29, 2002, 10:20 PM	#1
arn macrumors god Join Date: Apr 2001	MacRaffle Under Investigation Kevin Black wrote us with the following: If you go to the MacRaffle website, http://www.macraffle.com, you will notice that a message comes up instead of the site. Seems the Ohio Attorney General's office is investigating MacRaffle under gambling accusations. No one was arrested and the site owner seems to be upfront and honest. He\'s obviously trying to appear upfront and honest. However, for those that felt it could have been a shady operation, it appears the Ohio AG is going to determine it without doubt. So, those that felt it was could either be vindicated or ashamed. Only time will tell.

Sep 29, 2002, 11:31 PM	#2
SilvorX macrumors 68000 Join Date: May 2002 Location: 'Toba, Canada	i remember going to that site once...never really thought of it as a scam or anything... __________________ 800Mhz iBook G3, White iPhone 3G, Canon SD1000 Digital Camera and a 24 of beer! It's better to burn out than fade away

Sep 30, 2002, 12:38 AM	#5
dricci macrumors 6502a Join Date: Dec 2001	The Government - Protecting You from Yourself, Everyday! Attached Images

Nov 15, 2007, 04:20 PM	#12
irmongoose macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Sometimes Tokyo, sometimes California	irmongoose __________________ A Film and Artwork Portfolio

Nov 15, 2007, 04:26 PM	#14
WildCowboy macrumors god Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: nowhere near the infinite loop anymore	I think we can safely put this five-year old thread to bed. The amazing thing is that their site is still there with a "Returning Soon" label. __________________ 15" 2.4 GHz MacBook Pro -- 15" 1.67 GHz PowerBook -- 14" 1.2 GHz iBook

Sep 29, 2002, 11:38 PM	#3
happygoodies macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2002	It was obviously online gambling, which is banned in Ohio as far as I know, so they're clearly guilty unless there are other facts =( As for whether they were "legit" in that they randomly drew winners and sent out prizes, I think that's besides the point. It sounds like some guy got a get-rich-quick idea and put it on the Internet without realizing he could get into a lot of trouble. If anyone could do this, you'd see a million of these raffles online. What easier way to get money than to buy iPods for $300 each and sell 1000 raffle tickets for it for $1 each?

Sep 30, 2002, 12:13 AM	#4
arn Thread Starter macrumors god Join Date: Apr 2001	yeah - there are very clear rules about contests vs gambling. I ran a contest site for a while... and while I'm not a lawyer, there are some basic rules... In general... contest need to be free to enter - you can't have a purchase required. (this is called gambling). Unless there is a significant skill element involved, in which case you can charge entry fees. Certain organizations are exempt, I believe... such as non-profits (churchs perhaps) Looks like he's trying to utlize the Skill element - but in the few times I'd read that site, i never knew there was a skill element to it. arn

Oct 2, 2002, 09:19 PM	#7
funkywhat2 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2002	didn't they give the after tax profits to charity? why would that be illegal?

Nov 15, 2007, 11:43 AM	#10
card-wheels macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2007	Very nice forum, I'm an italian reader and your english is simple and easily understanded from me :-) Regards, Mario

Nov 15, 2007, 04:07 PM	#11
Unspeaked macrumors 68020 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: West Coast	The "skill" was being able to spot scams. The more skill you had, the less likely you were to lose money...

Nov 15, 2007, 04:22 PM	#13
Peace macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: On top of the Storm Peaks waiting for the Time-Lost Proto Drake	You have a coma at the end of that link arn. It goes nowhere.

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