A Raffle Was Originally a Dice Game
A raffle is a lottery with numbered tickets. The word named a medieval dice game before it named a fundraiser.
A raffle is a lottery in which numbered tickets are drawn for prizes. The word began as a game: Old French *rafle* named a dice game in which throwing three of a kind won the stake. The modern charitable raffle kept the idea of chance and the prize while losing the dice entirely.
- A ticket lottery. *A charity raffle.*
- To offer as a prize. *Raffle the hamper.*
- Raffle ticket — the entry. *Buy a raffle ticket.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | raffle | A school raffle. |
| Plural | raffles | Two raffles. |
| Verb | raffle | Raffle the prize. |
| Related | lottery | A national lottery. |
| Related | tombola | A village tombola. |
How it is used in a sentence
- A raffle was once a dice game.Three of a kind won.
- A tombola uses a rotating drum.Named from the Italian for tumble.
- Raffles are regulated as lotteries.In British gambling law.
Kinds of prize draw
- Raffle — numbered tickets drawn for specific prizes
- Tombola — tickets drawn from a rotating drum
- Lottery — the general legal category
- Sweepstake — participants draw entrants in a race or contest
- Prize draw — free entry, avoiding lottery regulation
From Old French *rafle*, a dice game, of uncertain earlier origin, possibly Germanic.
Raffle or tombola?
Both are prize draws. A tombola specifically uses a rotating drum, and the name comes from the Italian for tumble.
Are raffles regulated?
Yes. In Britain they fall under lottery law, with exemptions for small society and incidental lotteries.