Licensing
Charitable Gaming
Charitable Gaming means lottery schemes which are licensed and operated to provide benefit to charitable or religious organizations.
The proceeds of these activities must benefit a charitable organization, as per Section 207 of the Criminal Code of Canada. The proceeds from such gaming must be used for approved charitable or religious objects and purposes. In general, the use of proceeds is based on eligibility – if the organization is eligible, it may use the proceeds for its charitable purpose.
The licensing authority must also be satisfied that it is only carrying out charitable activities and those charitable activates fall within the organization’s objects. The test of charitableness is both a legal one and a factual one.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada all gaming activity is essentially illegal. However, there are exceptions, such as licensed gaming, regulated by a licensing and regulatory authority.
IGR issues licences for charitable gaming including: raffles, bingo, Texas Hold ’em Poker , Monte Carlo Events (mock casino), and breakopen tickets (commonly referred to as ‘Nevada’ tickets).
All applicants must completely fill out the application for the particular licence they wish to obtain. New applicants may also be asked to attach a copy of the organization’s incorporation papers, constitution, bylaws, and minutes of the formation meeting with the application.
Each organization is required to have a separate chequing account, with monthly returned cheques, that is for gaming revenue only. Organizations must deposit all gaming proceeds into this account.
“Licence” means a Charitable Gaming Licence as issued by IGR for the conduct and management of a Lottery Scheme and includes:
BINGO
Class “A” Bingo Licence
A licence issued to an Association to manage and coordinate activities related to Bingo/Charitable Gaming Events on behalf of all of the licensed charities operating at an Association Bingo Hall.
Class “B” Bingo Licence
Class “B” Licence is issued to a single charitable or religious organization to conduct and manage Bingo/Charitable Gaming Events in conjunction with a Class “A” Licensee at an Association Bingo Hall.
Class “C” Bingo Licence
A licence issued to a charity or religious organization to conduct and manage a Bingo Event at a Community Bingo Hall, where the Total Retail Prize Value per event may be greater than $1,000 and/or the number of events does not exceed three per week.
Class “C” Media Bingo Licence
A licence issued to a charity or religious organization to conduct and manage a Bingo Event using mass media communications (includes, but not limited to radio, newspaper, magazine and television). The number of events does not exceed three per week.
BREAKOPEN
Breakopen tickets are commonly referred to as pull-tabs or Nevada tickets. They are a gaming piece used in a game of chance that is completely made of paper or paper products which conceal numbers or symbols that must be exposed by the player by tearing off a covering in order to determine wins or losses. Prizes must be defined as per the game structure, and may be Instant Prizes or Secondary Prizes. Includes both Bingo Event Tickets and Seal Cards.
RAFFLE
A raffle is a type of charitable gaming in which entrants purchase a random chance to win a prize. There are many types of raffles, including standard draws, calendar draws, 50-50 draws, chase the ace, honey pot, sports drafts and pools, derbies and more.
MONTE CARLO EVENTS (mock casino)
An event at which games approved by IGR are played, without the use of legal tender (play money and/or chips), for the opportunity to acquire merchandise prizes. The Monte Carlo Charity Event shall consist only of blackjack table games and/or wheel of fortune games, unless otherwise approved by IGR. The licensee must obtain approval to offer additional games and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Poker games will not be allowed.
TEXAS HOLD’EM POKER TOURNAMENTS
Eligible groups and organizations may receive a licence to hold a Texas Hold ’em Poker Tournament. A charitable group or organization can hold a combined total of 52 Texas Hold ’em poker tournaments annually. Texas Hold ’em licences are issued in accordance with Section 207(1)(b) of the Criminal Code, to charitable or religious organizations provided the proceeds from the lottery scheme are used for a charitable or religious object or purpose.
CASINOS – SIGA TABLE GAMES
Under the provisions of the 2002 Framework Agreement, IGR is responsible for licensing and regulating table games and registering gaming employees.
CHARITABLE GAMING GRANT PROGRAM
All charitable or religious organizations licensed by Indigenous Gaming Regulators (IGR) under section 207(1)(b) of the Criminal Code to conduct gaming (bingo, breakopen, raffles, Texas Hold’em Poker Tournaments, and Monte Carlo Events) are eligible to receive a grant issued by SLGA. SLGA pays a grant equal to 25% of net proceeds on every charitable gaming licence. Find out more information about financial reporting and the charitable gaming grant, contact IGR Licensing Department or call SLGA (306)787-5563.
REGISTERED GAMING SUPPLIERS
When a charitable organization conducts licensed fundraising events they must utilize the services of a Registered Gaming Suppler. To learn more, contact IGR Licensing Department to obtain a current list of active Registered Gaming Suppliers.
To learn more, contact IGR Licensing Department to obtain applications and supporting documentation.
Form 1001 Class A Application
Form 1002 Class B Application
Form 1003 Class C Application
Form 1008 Raffle Application (Revised 2018)
Form 1009 Breakopen Application
Form 1011 Texas Hold’em Application & Tournament Format
Form 1012 Monte Carlo Application