Meat raffle

What it is

A meat raffle sells tickets for a chance to win meat. The prizes are cuts and packs to take home, not cooked dishes, and they usually come from butchers nearby. Some raffles are run by a named charity, so the money goes to a cause. Others work as a pub evening where most of the takings are paid back out as prizes. Players buy a numbered ticket. When their number is called, the holder can choose a cut of meat or take a gift certificate instead.

Prize trays

Trays differ from place to place. The most usual Australian and New Zealand tray mixes barbecue cuts: steaks, lamb chops and sausages. A breakfast tray holds bacon, eggs and sausages. A seafood tray may hold prawns, oysters or mussels. Because the meat comes from local butchers, what is on offer follows what the shop has. In the Canadian variant called Porketta Bingo, played mainly around Sudbury, the prize is a porchetta, a seasoned roast pork of Italian origin, and the game raises money for local minor hockey leagues. In Australia, a chook raffle prizes a single chicken instead of a tray.

Where it is kept

Pubs in Australia and New Zealand commonly hold these raffles, and there the prizes are simply called meat trays. They appear in Britain, in some parts of the United States and in western Canada. The takings usually support a local sports club, and in Australia the money often pays for a team's end of season trip. That team is frequently linked to the pub that hosts the draw. The BDO World Darts Championship once held a meat raffle during its interval, raising funds for youth teams. In the United States, interest grew again during the 2020s, with state gambling rules covering how such raffles are run.

What it means

A meat raffle means different things in different places. In Britain it is described as a night out that also draws custom into the local pub, and the draw is as much about company as about meat. In Australia, New Zealand and Canada the point is the fundraiser: neighbours and supporters buy tickets so that a club can pay its way, including for an end of season trip. The prize is ordinary food rather than cash, which keeps the stakes low and the mood easy.

In print and on screen

The idea has travelled beyond the pub. A Dave television comedy, Compete for the Meat, hosted by Al Murray, took the raffle as its loose premise. Newspaper pieces have carried readers to raffle nights in the United States, and a state gambling manual in Minnesota lists rules for running them. These raffles are local events rather than national institutions: each is shaped by the pub, the butcher and the club that benefits, and each looks a little different.

How Meat raffle is kept

Players buy numbered tickets, often from someone connected to the club or charity that will benefit. Tickets are sold in the pub before the draw. When a number is called, the holder comes forward and picks a cut or tray of meat, or takes a gift certificate instead. The meat usually comes from a butcher nearby. In Britain the raffle is run as a social evening and a way of drawing people into the pub, while in Australia and New Zealand the money often goes to a sporting team linked to that pub.

When and where

The sources do not give a fixed date for meat raffles. They are held as recurring pub events rather than on a named day, and each pub or organising group sets its own timing.

Meat raffles are a familiar part of pub life in Australia and New Zealand, where the trays are simply called meat trays. They are held too in some areas of Britain and the United States, including Minnesota, and in western Canada. Around Sudbury in Canada, a variant called Porketta Bingo is played. The money usually goes to a local sports team or youth side.

What Meat raffle means

A meat raffle is a social and practical custom rather than a religious one. In Britain it is described as a night out that also draws custom into the local pub, so the evening matters as much as the prize. In Australia and New Zealand it is a modest fundraiser: neighbours and team supporters buy tickets, and the money pays for a club's needs, including an end of season trip. The prize being ordinary food rather than cash keeps the occasion easy and informal.

Questions people ask about Meat raffle

See also

Australian rules footballA fast, high-scoring code of football with 18 players a side, first played in MelbourneDreidelA four-sided top spun for small stakes, most often by Jewish families at HanukkahWorld Eskimo-Indian OlympicsAn annual Arctic gathering of traditional survival games, athletics, and cultural artsGreasy poleA slippery pole climbed, walked or crossed to win a prize at the top or the far end

Good reading and sources

• Meat raffle on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-11.