Lottery and Gaming Licensing

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) authorizes the City of Brantford to provide lottery and gaming licenses. The City makes sure lottery licensees and any gaming supplies used by charities meet all legal requirements. The Criminal Code of Canada defines what types of gaming activities are illegal in Canada, and the provinces are assigned responsibility to operate, license and regulate legal forms of gaming.

Council has the authority to issue licences for most lottery events conducted in Brantford including:

  • Bingo events with prize boards of up to $5,500
  • Raffles with prizes of up to $50,000
  • Break open ticket events that are not conducted in conjunction with another licensed gaming event, and where the tickets are sold within Brantford
  • Bazaar gaming events
  • Media bingo
Lottery group eligibility

Determining an organization’s eligibility for lottery licensing is a complex process. Licensing officials must make eligibility decisions on a case-by-case basis by considering the specific circumstances of each organization. Licensing officials must also determine the eligible uses of lottery proceeds for each organization.

Licences are only issued for the following charitable reasons:

  • The relief of poverty
  • The advancement of education
  • The advancement of religion
  • Other charitable purposes that benefit the community

An organization must also demonstrate how it has carried out charitable activities that benefit Ontario residents in a way that is consistent with its mandate for at least one year.

Filling out the lottery group eligibility application is the first step in being considered as a possible eligible lottery group. 

Eligibility reviews for new groups take approximately two weeks. Additional information may be requested. Please provide all necessary material in a timely manner. Annual eligibility updates of changed or amended documents, programs, or similar material are required by each active group once they are deemed eligible to conduct lotteries. 
Use of lottery proceeds

Once a group is deemed eligible for a licence, the use of lottery proceeds listed on the licence application is reviewed. A licensing official will review the organization’s programs and services, their mandate, the type of organization their are, and the structure of the origination. Eligible uses of proceeds include:

  • Charitable and advance the charitable purposes or objects of the organization
  • Used for the direct delivery of the charitable purposes or objects of the
  • Directed toward specific segments of the Ontario community or residents of Ontario with a common need

Financial requirements

All licensees must hold lottery proceeds in designated lottery trust accounts for the purposes listed in the lottery licence application and as approved by the licensing authority. The licensing authority may limit the amount that may be held in the trust account. Lottery proceeds must be used for the purposes approved by the licensing authority and cannot be accumulated for other purposes or over a period of time not approved by the licensing authority.

Below is a listing of licence types and reporting requirements. Please contact us with any questions.

Bazaar 

A bazaar is a sale of goods held to raise money for a charity. There are four types of  lottery events that are permitted at bazaars:

  • wheels of fortune – three wheel maximum ($2 maximum for individual bets)
  • bingo (not exceeding $500 in prizes)
  • raffles and penny auction raffles (not exceeding $500 in prizes)

Please review the AGCO's terms and conditions for bazaar licences. Please note that all financial lottery activity must be conducted within a lottery trust account.

The following is required for a bazaar licence:

Fee:

  • 3% of the retail value of all prizes to be given away up to a maximum of $50,000
Licence reports 

Reports are due within 30 days of the lottery event.  An organization’s future applications may be denied if reports are not received after 60 days. The following documents are required in your report:

  • All bank statements showing all revenue and expenditures from the last report filed with this office until completion of the lottery event for which the report is being submitted
  • All receipts for all expenditures for the lottery event, including a copy of any disbursement cheques from the lottery trust account
  • Copy of lottery ticket used in lottery event
  • Names and addresses of all winners
  • Completed City of Brantford reconciliation report and AGCO lottery report (Note: If your raffle was part of a larger fundraising event please only report on the “raffle portion” of the event)
Bingo

Bingo is a game of chance where players are awarded a prize or prizes for being the first to complete a specified arrangement of numbers on bingo paper, based on numbers selected at random.

Review AGCO’s terms and conditions for bingo licences. Please note that all financial lottery activity must be conducted within a lottery trust account.

The following is required for a bingo licence:

Fee:

  • 3% of the retail value of all prizes to be given away up to a maximum of $5,500.00
Licence reports

Reports are due within 15 days of the lottery event.  An organization’s future applications may be denied if reports are not received in a timely manner. The following documents are required in your report:

  • All bank statements showing all revenue and expenditures from the last report filed with this office until completion of the lottery event for which the report is being submitted
  • All receipts for all expenditures for the lottery event, including a copy of any disbursement cheques from the lottery trust account
  • Names and addresses of all winners
  • Completed City of Brantford bingo report and AGCO bingo report
Break open tickets

Break open tickets are instant win lottery tickets. They are commonly known as pull tab or nevada tickets and by brand name “Pocket Slots”. Break open tickets are made of cardboard, have one or more perforated cover window tabs hiding winning and losing numbers or symbols, are played by tearing off the cover tabs, and can also include seal cards and bingo event tickets. Our break open ticket types and maximum expenses are available fore you to review.

Review AGCO’s terms and conditions for break open ticket licences. Please note that all financial lottery activity must be conducted within a lottery trust account.

The following is required for a break open ticket licence:

Fee:

  • 3% of the retail value of all prizes to be given away up to a maximum of $50,000

Licence Extensions

Groups may request extensions on their break open ticket licence if required. This must be done in writing before your current licence expires. Request will be evaluated on a case by case basis.

Licence reports

Reports are due within 30 days of the lottery event.  An organization’s future applications may be denied if reports are not received after 60 days. The following documents are required in your report:

  • All bank statements showing all revenue and expenditures from the last report filed with this office until completion of the lottery event for which the report is being submitted
  • All receipts for all expenditures for the lottery event, including a copy of any disbursement cheques from the lottery trust account
  • Copy of lottery ticket used in lottery event
  • Names and addresses of all winners
  • Completed City of Brantford break open ticket reconciliation report and AGCO break open ticket report

 
Raffle

A raffle is a lottery system where tickets are sold for a chance to win a prize in a draw. The different types of raffle systems are usually identified by the winner is determined. Raffle prizes may consist of merchandise or cash, or a combination of the two. The value of the prizes to be awarded, including any taxes must be $50,000 or less in order for the City of Brantford to issue a licence.

The following are permitted raffle lottery events:

  • Stub draw
  • Elimination draw
  • Calendar draw
  • “Golf ball drop” raffle lottery
  • Rubber duck race
  • 50/50 draw
  • Blanket raffle
  • Meat spin/turkey roll
  • “Name the raffle” lottery
  • Bossy bingo/cow patty bingo

Please review AGCO’s terms and conditions for raffle licences. Please note that all financial lottery activity must be conducted within a lottery trust account.

The following is required for a raffle licence:

Fee:

  • 3% of the retail value of all prizes to be given away up to a maximum of $50,000
Licence reports

Reports are due within 30 days of the lottery event. An organization’s future applications may be denied if reports are not received after 60 days. The following documents are required in your report:

  • All bank statements showing all revenue and expenditures from the last report filed with this office until completion of the lottery event for which the report is being submitted
  • All receipts for all expenditures for the lottery event, including a copy of any disbursement cheques from the lottery trust account
  • Copy of lottery ticket used in lottery event
  • Names and addresses of all winners
  • Completed City of Brantford reconciliation report and AGCO lottery report (Note: If your raffle was part of a larger fundraising event please only report on the “raffle portion” of the event)
  • Completed AGCO blanket raffle lottery report if more than one type of raffle event was held