No, savings promotion raffles remain prohibited under current Illinois law.
The American Savings Promotion Act amended federal law to exempt “savings promotion raffles” from the prohibition on lotteries under federal law. (Savings promotion raffles are defined as a contest in which customers who deposit a specified amount of money into savings accounts are entered into a raffle to win prizes from their financial institution.) However, such contests remain prohibited under the Illinois Criminal Code’s prohibition on gambling, which applies to any contest in which “prizes are distributed by chance among persons who have paid or promised consideration for a chance to win such prizes . . . .”
However, legislation has been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly to exempt savings promotion raffles from the Illinois Criminal Code’s definition of gambling, with corresponding amendments made to the Illinois Banking Act, Savings Bank Act and Credit Union Act, which would expressly permit financial institutions to conduct savings promotion raffles. We are monitoring this legislation and will check back with you if it is enacted.
For resources related to our guidance, please see below:
- Illinois Criminal Code — 720 ILCS 5/28-1(a)(7) (defining gambling to include setting up or promoting a lottery)
- Illinois Criminal Code — 720 ILCS 5/28-2(b) (defines “lottery” as “any scheme or procedure whereby one or more prizes are distributed by chance among persons who have paid or promised consideration for a chance to win such prizes, whether such scheme or procedure is called a lottery, raffle, gift, sale or some other name”)