Lottery Licensing

Lottery events can provide a great fundraising opportunity for many charitable and not-for-profit organizations. The Municipality of Lambton Shores may issue charitable lottery licenses and will help the organization to understand the terms and conditions set out under the authority of the Criminal Code (Canada), the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and the Municipality itself.

Your organization must be eligible to manage and conduct lottery events. 


Helpful AGCO Links: 

Lottery Licence Terms and Conditions

Lottery Licensing Policy Manual

Only approved charitable organizations are eligible for lottery licences as per the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. If your charitable organization is interested in applying for a lottery licence an eligibility review must first be conducted. Organizations must have been in existence for at least 1-year and provide proof that lottery fundraising is not the only source of generating revenue in order to be considered for eligibility.

Lottery Licensing Eligibility Review Application 

Email events@lambtonshores.ca or call 519-243-1400, ext. 8310 if you require any assistance with this process. 

Helpful AGCO Links: 

Evaluation Process

Eligibility and Use of Proceeds

General Lottery Licensing Policies 

A lottery event contains three components:

  • A prize (the prize value must be a minimum of 20% of the total ticket sales, unless it’s a 50/50 raffle.
  • A chance to win the prize
  • Consideration or a fee

All lottery events require a lottery licence in order to be permitted. Lottery events conducted without a licence are prohibited by the Criminal Code of Canada.

An auction does not require a lottery licence as there is no chance to win as the highest bidder wins.

Municipalities may issue licences to eligible organizations for raffles (non-electronic and with prizes valued at up to $50,000), break open tickets, bazaar events and bingo events (prizes valued at up to $5,500).

Helpful AGCO Links:

Lottery Licence Terms and Conditions for charitable gaming

Lottery Licensing Policy Manual

 

 

Once eligibility has been determined, your organization will need to complete the appropriate application for the lottery event you are wanting to hold. Click on the links below to learn more about the type of lottery,  and application and reporting requirements. 

Completed applications and supporting documents should be submitted to: 

Municipality of Lambton Shores
9577 Port Franks Rd, 
Thedford, ON N0M 2N0
Email

Please submit the application at least one (1) week before it is required to allow time for a proper review. 

Once the application is approved, the organization will be notified that the licence may be picked up, and the fee must be paid (3% of the total prize value). 

Helpful AGCO Links:

Applications and reports for Charitable Gaming Lottery Licenses

The AGCO may issue licences to eligible organizations for the following events: 

Please use the iAGCO Service Portal when applying for a licence that they may issue.

AGCO Contact:
General Telephone: 416-326-8700
Toll Free in Ontario: 1-800-522-2876
Email

Organizations that run lottery events should use the following as a guideline for retaining their records. It is not the  responsibility of the Municipality to retain a organization's lottery records.  

  1. A serial number record must be main­tained showing the distribution of tickets, including the names of sellers, and the return of ticket stubs, cash, unsold or returned tickets to reconcile all tickets and cash at the end of the raffle.
  2. The licensee must retain all unsold tickets, and stubs or counterfoils of sold tickets for a period of one (1) year from the date of the (last) draw.
  3. The licensee must obtain receipts for each expense incurred.
  4. The licensee must maintain a detailed record of how profits from the raffle have been dispersed.
  5. The licensee must maintain books, records and other documents in support of all financial reports or state­ments. These records must be kept up to date and be retained for no less than four (4) years from the date of the raffle.
  6. The licensee must provide officers appointed by the licensing authority and all peace officers unencumbered access to all books and records related to the conduct of the raffle and must deliver these documents to the licens­ing authority when requested. The books and records may be retained by the licensing authority for audit and investigation purposes.

Contact Us

9577 Port Franks Road, Thedford, ON N0M 2N0
Municipal Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Phone: 519-243-1400 | 1-866-943-1400 | Fax: 519-243-8611