Is silent auction gambling

Answer 1

Any process by which a person pays money to another person or organization in order to seek a return on the outcome of an event is gambling.

So, when we buy a lottery ticket we're betting we'll win some money back, whereas the seller is betting we won't win anything at all and they'll get to keep all the money we paid for the ticket. No matter how many tickets we buy that don't win, we don't get any of our money back until one ticket wins.

Similarly, we can pay someone who says a particular horse won't win a race, on an agreement that if that horse does win the race they'll pay us back, with extra money.

Again, no matter how many races A bets on, B still keeps all the money until A picks the right horse, and then B just pays back the money on that horse, not on the others.

Insurance works the same way. A bets the insurance company (B) that A's house will burn down, or be robbed, or that they'll lose their job, and so on, while B bets this won't happen.

Then, if A is robbed, B pays to replace the stolen goods. If A doesn't get robbed, B keeps on keeping A's money. If A stays insured against robbery for ten years and then is robbed once, B pays out for that robbery, but still gets to keep all the rest of the money A paid them.

As you can see, the principles of gambling are incredibly simple and straightforward. A (the gambler) bets with B (known as the House) on an outcome and B almost always wins, or in other words, A hopes to outsmart B and usually doesn't. Gambling can make huge amounts of money for B, but the process is arranged so that A almost never makes a profit at all.

In an auction, A is hoping to buy something for less than they'd pay elsewhere; B is hoping to get more money for what they're selling than if they sold it elsewhere. The chances are in favour of B ending up better off than A from the auction.

Both silent auctions and conventional auctions, regardless of whether run by a single seller who takes all of the winning bid, or an organization which takes a percentage of the winning bid, is a form of gambling.

However, if a charitable event is organized on the basis that items for auction are donated, and all the money raised in bids goes to that charity and no money at all is paid to those donating the auctioned goods or services, then that event can't be considered gambling. It's exactly the same as if a cake is baked free of charge for a charity which then sells tickets to win the cake: the holder of the winning ticket gets the cake, while the charity gets all the proceeds from the tickets it sold.

But if the person who bakes the cake is paid for it, then the element of gambling comes in.

Organizers promoting any event as non-profit and solely for charity must be able to prove this is actually the case; guidelines are straightforward and if not complied with, the event might be considered gambling.

It must be remembered that legal requirements vary between jurisdictions and if you are considering holding a silent auction or any other event which might possibly be construed as gambling you'd be very wise indeed to check with your local authorities before you start organizing your event.

If you need to know whether a particular activity or event is gambling for reasons relating to your culture or religion you will need to consult experts in your church or community who can guide you in this. Each activity needs to be looked at separately according to its aims and how it is managed.