
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) is responsible for administering the lottery licensing program in the province - municipalities are partners with the AGCO in issuing lottery licences to eligible charitable and religious organizations.
Lottery licensing refers to lottery schemes permitted by a licence under the Criminal Code of Canada. Typically, these may include bingos, raffles, break open tickets and social gaming events held by charitable or religious organizations. Licensed charitable or religious organizations must conduct and manage their events in accordance with licensing policies and the terms and conditions of the licences and fulfill all prescribed reporting requirements.
Order in Council 2688/93 (as amended by OIC 2038/97 and OIC 267/98) authorizes the licensing framework for eligible charitable or religious organizations to hold lottery events and sets out the limits of municipal and provincial licensing.
The commercial sector of the charitable gaming industry is regulated by the Gaming Control Act, 1992 (the "Act") and Regulations. For more information on how charitable gaming is affected by the Act, visit the section of our web site on "Charitable Gaming Registration".
The AGCO is the licensing authority for:
Lottery licences issued by the Municipalities The Order-In-Council provides municipalities with licensing authority for:
The municipality may attach terms and conditions, in addition to those established by the province, provided that they do not conflict with provincial Terms and Conditions or policies. Applications for lottery events licensed by the AGCO must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the date of the event and 45 days for organizations applying for the first time. For your convenience, the application forms and terms and conditions for each lottery type can be found on our web site. The application forms are designed so you can complete the form from your computer or print a blank form and complete by hand. Do not e-mail application forms.
In the first instance, the licensing authority will review all relevant documentation to determine eligibility for lottery licences. These decisions are based on what is considered charitable in law, including the Criminal Code of Canada, previous court decisions, Order-in-Council 2688/93 as amended, and the policies issued by the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming. The courts have determined that the term "charitable" refers to organizations, which provide programs for:
Each application is unique. Determinations of eligibility will depend on the specific organization and its proposed use of proceeds. The following pre-requisites are mandatory to be considered eligible for a lottery licence:
What is Needed to Determine Eligibility? When an organization applies for a lottery licence, it needs to provide the following documents or information so its eligibility can be reviewed:
Click below to download the appropriate form. For more information, or for assistance with these forms, please contact Colleen Keeley at 267-3311 ext. 2221. |