Readers Write: Since When Did Gambling Become a Fundraising Strategy?

Dear Editor,

I’ve been noticing a trend lately that really bothers me. More and more raffles in our community are being structured in ways that look and feel an awful lot like gambling.

Here’s one example of how it works: You authorize a donation, for example, anywhere from $1 to $500. Then you receive a random number between $1 and $500, and whatever number you get becomes the amount you donate. Each number is assigned only once. In exchange, you get a chance to win a big prize.

The prize itself isn’t what bothers me. It’s the way the whole thing is structured.

Before anyone jumps in with the halachic side of the discussion, I’m not here to pasken whether a particular raffle is permitted or forbidden. That’s a question for the proper rabbonim. My concern is something else entirely.

Even if a particular setup is technically permissible, why are we bringing this kind of concept into our community in the first place?

We spend so much time and effort teaching our children about the dangers of gambling, the excitement of chasing a win, and the idea that money shouldn’t be treated like a game of chance. We know how addictive that mindset can become. So why are we making it part of our fundraising culture?

When the process involves getting a random number, not knowing what you’ll pay, and hoping to win something worth thousands of dollars, it starts to resemble the very behavior we should be careful about normalizing.

Fundraising is important. Our organizations need money, and people want to help. But there are plenty of ways to raise funds without borrowing the excitement and psychology of gambling.

Just because a system can be made to work within certain rules doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea to introduce it into our community.

We should be asking ourselves not only whether something is technically allowed, but also what kind of habits and attitudes we’re encouraging. Do we really want the next generation to grow up seeing this as a normal way to give tzedakah?

I think we need to have this conversation before these raffles become so commonplace that nobody even stops to question them anymore.

Yitty Gross