Lottery Licensing

 Who is Eligible?

Only charitable or non-profit charitable organizations are eligible for a lottery license. Charitable, or not-for-profit organizations must demonstrate that they have an eligible mandate, including:

• Advancement of education

• Advancement of religion

• Relief of poverty

• Other charitable purposes beneficial to the community

To be eligible, your organization must:

• Have been in existence for at least a year

• Have provided charitable community services consistent with the primary objects and purposes of the organization for at least a year

• Have a place of business in Ontario and demonstrate that it is established to provide charitable services in Ontario

• Propose to use proceeds for charitable purposes or objects that benefit Ontario and its residents

• Assume full responsibility for the conduct and management of its lottery events

 What is the cost?

 Who issues lottery licenses?

The AGCO and municipalities work together to ensure licensees and any gaming suppliers comply with legal requirements, including terms and conditions to the licenses.

The Registrar provides a Lottery Licensing Policy Manual. This manual is used by municipal licensing officers to make decisions on eligibility for:

• How proceeds are used

• The types of lottery programs for which a license may be issued.

The Registrar also issues terms and conditions for licenses, which may be supplemented by municipalities.

The Registrar has general authority to issue licenses. In the case of lottery licensees in pooling bingo halls, the AGCO and the municipality are both involved in issuing licenses.

In other situations, the municipality will issue most lottery licenses for:

• Bingos not in a pooling bingo hall with a maximum prize board of $5,500

• Break open tickets sold within the municipality.

• Raffles under $50,000 in prizes

• 50/50 draws

• Bazaar gaming events

• Media bingo

The Registrar issues licenses for:

• Raffles more than $50,000 in prizes

• Break open tickets to be sold regionally or province-wide.

• Certain "in conjunction with" games as part of a non-pooling bingo hall, such as Super Jackpot bingo and break open tickets.

How do I know if I am eligible for a lottery licence and how do I get approved?

• Advancement of education

• Advancement of religion

• Relief of poverty

• Other charitable purposes beneficial to the community

To be eligible, your organization must:

• Have been in existence for at least a year

• Have provided charitable community services consistent with the primary objects and purposes of the organization for at least a year

• Have a place of business in Ontario and demonstrate that it is established to provide charitable services in Ontario

• Propose to use proceeds for charitable purposes or objects that benefit Ontario and its residents

• Assume full responsibility for the conduct and management of its lottery events

The following types of organizations are not considered charitable by the Province of Ontario for lottery licensing purposes and are therefore ineligible:

• Elected representative groups, including municipal, regional, provincial and federal governments

• Government ministries, agents or bodies

• Groups attempting to bring about or oppose change in the law or government policy

• Groups promoting political doctrine

• Municipal councils, municipal corporations and their administrative departments

• Organizations established solely for the purposes of fundraising

• Political lobby groups and political parties

• Private sports clubs, such as golf or curling clubs

• Professional associations, unions and employee groups

• Social clubs, adult hobby groups and adult sports teams

To prove eligibility, you will need to contact the Town's Lottery Licensing Coordinator to commence an eligibility review. As part of the review, you will be requested to submit the following documentation:

• A copy of letters patent;

• A copy of constitution and bylaws;

• A copy of budget for the current year;

• A copy of financial statements for the preceding year;

• A list of Board of Directors;

• Its latest report to the Public Guardian and Trustee;

• Charitable number for income tax purposes;

• A copy of “Notification of Registration” letter from the Canada Revenue Agency with any supporting documentation, indicating the applicant’s status and terms of registration;

• Copies of charitable returns to the Canada Revenue Agency for the previous calendar year;

• A detailed description of activities; and

• A copy of annual report

For a full list of the documents that can be requested during an eligibility review, please refer to the AGCO website.

Once an organization has proved eligibility, they will not need to submit these documents for subsequent lottery licence applications unless significant changes have been made to the organization and/or as requested by the Town of Halton Hills as part of the Town’s audit of organizations eligibility.

Can I run more than one lottery event at a time?

• One break open ticket licence at a time

• Up to three bingo licenses per six-month period

• One raffle licence with a bingo licence