Lotteries and raffles | City of Ottawa

Obtaining a Charitable Lottery Licence

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is responsible for administering the lottery licensing program in the province. Municipalities and the AGCO are responsible for issuing lottery licences to eligible charitable and religious organizations. Eligible charitable and religious organizations may raise funds through provincially or municipally licensed lottery events.

The City of Ottawa is responsible for issuing licenses for the following types of events:

bingo and media bingo events, with prize boards of up to $5,500;
break open tickets for local organizations;
raffle lotteries for total prizes of $50,000 and under; and
bazaar lotteries which include: wheels of fortune with a maximum bet of $2.00, raffles not exceeding $500, and bingo events up to $500.

All other charitable gaming events are licensed by the AGCO, details can be found on their website.

Are You Eligible for a Charitable Gaming Licence?

Charitable registration with Revenue Canada or incorporation as a non-profit organization does NOT guarantee eligibility for licenses.

Your organization may be eligible if it:

has a purpose to provide charitable services to Ontario residents to:
- relieve poverty
- advance religion
- advance education
- benefit the community
has carried out activities consistent with its charitable purpose for at least 1 year
is located in Ontario
is non-profit or charitable

Some examples include:

hospitals
service clubs
youth activities or sports
arts or culture
schools

Organizations that only promote the private interests of their members do NOT qualify for gaming event licenses. This may include, but is NOT limited to:

adult recreation or sports
individual sport teams
unions or employee groups
social clubs
professional associations
political, government, lobbying or advocacy groups.

Penalties

Pursuant to Section 14.1 of the Alcohol and Gaming Regulation and Public Protection Act, 1996, the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming may issue monetary penalties towards Individuals or organizations that violate provisions of the Gaming Control Act and its regulations, according to the Schedule of Monetary Penalties.

Questions

To speak with a By-law Services Assistant:

Phone: 613-580-2424 extension 44151
Email: lottery_loterie@ottawa.ca
in person:

735 Industrial Avenue, 2nd Floor
Ottawa, ON
K1G 5J1

Business hours are 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday.

City of Ottawa Raffle Lottery License

Licensing Requirements

Carefully read the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario’s Raffle Licence terms and conditions. A minimum of twenty (20) working days is required to process all raffle applications.

An organization must have been in existence for at least one (1) year before being considered for a lottery licence.
Tickets cannot be sold or distributed until the actual licence certificate has been picked up.
Original signatures are required, therefore applications cannot be submitted electronically;
Raffle tickets cannot be sold, distributed or advertised outside of Ontario;

Documentation

New applicants must submit the following documentation with their application:

Mock-up of the raffle ticket must be attached to ALL applications;
Alcohol and Gaming Ontario Application Form – make sure all questions have been answered and it has been properly signed;
City of Ottawa Lottery Application;
Complete Letters of Incorporation (if applicable);
Constitution and/or By-Laws – including mandate – signed and dated by three (3) Board Members with signing authority;
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Charitable Number (if applicable) – copy of the complete document;
Copy of last completed T3010 form submitted to CRA (if registered with CRA);
Budget covering the current twelve (12) month fiscal or calendar year, detailing how resources will be acquired and disbursed during this period (to be submitted annually);
Preceding year’s financial statements (to be submitted annually);
List of Board of Directors (to be submitted annually), including address, phone number, title;
Proof of sufficient activity in the General Account by way bank statements for the preceding year;
If prize value is $10,000 or more, one of the following must be provided:
Irrevocable Letter of Credit from a recognized financial institution,
A bank draft or money order.

All guarantees must be made payable to the City of Ottawa, in the amount of the total value of the prizes to be awarded including all taxes and with a minimum expiry date of no less than 45 days after the date of the last event.

Licence Fee

The License Fee for Raffle Lotteries is 3% of the maximum prize value (including all applicable taxes).

Example:

Prize Value: $2,000

License Fee: $60.00

Cheques are to be made payable to the City of Ottawa. (Personal cheques, cash or credit cards are not accepted.)

Prize Value

The market retail value of the prizes(s) to be awarded shall not be less that 20% of the anticipated gross proceeds from the sale of the tickets. This is calculated on the total number of tickets expected to be sold multiplied by the price per ticket as approved on the license application. The number of tickets to be printed may exceed the number expected to be sold, to permit proper distribution provided that the number printed does not substantially affect the odds of winning.

Ticket Requirements

Prize value must include all taxes. Handmade prizes, gift certificates, cash vouchers – no taxes;
Tickets must specify if taxes are to be paid by the winner(s);
50/50 draws must indicate maximum prize value on ticket;
Handwritten ticket numbers are not acceptable;
Tickets shall not bear any coupon, promotional or advertising material unless it is promoting the licensee and approved by the licensee. If the prize(s) are donated, the words “courtesy of ” or donated by ” are acceptable.

The following example ticket does not have to be followed exactly. However, all of the appropriate information must be included. If the tickets are incorrect the license will not be issued.

Draw Side

Name of Organization
Organization Address and Phone Number
Address and Phone Number
Name___________________________________
Address_________________________________
Phone No._______________________________
Ottawa Lottery Licence Number
Ticket Number of Total Tickets
Date of Draw
Must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Voucher Side

Name of Organization,
Organization Address and Phone Number
Ottawa Licence Number
Date, Time and Location of Draw
Ticket Number of Total Tickets
Price of Ticket
Prizes ((must be listed including retail cash value and all applicable taxes)
Must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Note: If raffle is a 50/50 draw - this should be indicated on “prizes” line as well as the maximum prize value.

Ticket Requirements (Ready Made Roll Tickets)

If the raffle uses ready-made rolls of tickets, each seller is required to display the following information:

Name
Draw Type
Date
Location
Prize Details
Ticket Price
Number of tickets for sale
Draw Date and Time
An image of what a complete ticket looks like.
“Winners must be present to claim a prize.”
“Must be 18 years of age or older to participate.”
Ottawa Licence Number

After Municipal Approval

A “Lottery Trust Account” must be maintained for lottery events held in the City of Ottawa. The licensee has the option of either:

Opening and maintaining one (1) Designated Lottery Trust Account; OR
Opening and maintaining separate Lottery Trust Accounts for each type of lottery scheme conducted.

Once your Lottery License Application has been approved you must open the Trust Account. The account must have the following features:

Account is a trust account.
Account has cheque writing privileges and cheques are returned with monthly bank statements.
All cheques and bank statements indicate “trust” after the organization’s name.
All cheques must have two (2) signatures.
Deposit slips are completed for each deposit and stamped by the teller
Lottery proceeds cannot be transferred to a General or Operating Account. Lottery proceeds must be distributed from the Lottery Trust Account by cheque, on the direct objects and purposes of the organization, as approved on each license application.

Picking up the licence

Prior to the ticket sales commencing, the charitable organization must bring a copy of the last printed ticket to the Lottery Services Division;
All tickets must be printed prior to picking up the license;
A Lottery Officer will review the ticket and if the ticket is correct the license will be issued.

Reports

A Raffle Lottery Report and a list of the winners will be attached to each license.

The reports must be completed and submitted within 30 days of the final event.

Reports must be accompanied by copies of the bank statement and deposit slips and submitted on a monthly basis

Mail or deliver to:

City of Ottawa
By-law & Regulatory Services
735 Industrial Avenue, 2nd Floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1G 5J1

Documents may be dropped off at any City of Ottawa Client Service Centre, to be forwarded to By-law Services located at 735 Industrial Avenue, 2nd floor, mail-code 07-22.

Break Open Ticket Lottery Licensing Procedures

Requirements

Carefully read the attached Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s Break Open Ticket Licence terms and conditions. A minimum of twenty (20) working days is required to process break open ticket licence applications.

An organization must have been in existence for at least one (1) year before being considered for a lottery licence.
An organization applying to sell break open tickets at a “new” third party location will be licensed for a maximum of six (6) boxes on the first licence.