This guide contains detailed information to assist you as administrators applying for a Bingo Hall Charity Association licence.

The AGCO may issue a Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence to a Hall Charities Association on behalf of its member organizations. Hall Charity Association administrators are responsible for submitting applications for this licence type and for all reporting.

The AGCO issues lottery licences in accordance with the framework set out in the Criminal Code (Canada) and Order in Council 208/2024. Under the Gaming Control Act, 1992, the AGCO is responsible for registering suppliers who provide goods and services to lottery licensees. The AGCO also assesses electronic gaming equipment to ensure that it meets the Registrar's Standards.

The current regulatory framework is based on six key elements:

1. Criminal Code (Canada)
2. Gaming Control Act, 1992 and its Regulations
3. Order-in-Council 208/2024
4. Terms and conditions
5. Standards and Directives issued by the Registrar
6. Lottery Licensing Policy Manual, together with all updates and information bulletins.

Note: Changes detailed in this guide only apply to licences issued by the AGCO and do not impact licences issued by municipalities and First Nations with an Order-In-Council. See details below.

• The AGCO is responsible for regulating and overseeing licensed lottery events conducted by eligible charitable and religious organizations to raise funds to support charitable purposes, including bingo, raffles and the sale of break open tickets.
  • This responsibility is shared with municipalities and First Nations with an Order-In-Council.
    • Certain licences are issued at municipal level while others are issued by the AGCO.

Lottery Licensing Policy Manual

The Registrar publishes a Lottery Licensing Policy Manual (LLPM) which is used to determine eligibility for a lottery licence and the use of proceeds from charitable gaming. The LLPM has been designed to ensure lottery licences are issued and administered on a consistent basis throughout the province. The AGCO also uses the LLPM to communicate changes in the Registrar’s policies and in the regulatory structures for lottery licensing.

Fees and Payment

• Please refer to the AGCO’s Charitable Gaming Fees page for the applicable fee.
• When using online services, all payments under $30,000 must be made by Visa, MasterCard, Visa Debit, MasterCard Debit or pre-paid Visa or MasterCard. 
  • Payments of $30,000 or more must be made by money wire transfer or electronic funds transfer. Please note that cheques and cash (including USD) are not accepted.
  • All fees must be submitted at time of application and are non-refundable.

Important Information

• Do not misrepresent or omit any material fact(s). Each statement made in your application is subject to verification.
• It is a serious offence to knowingly provide false information on the forms and on any attachments.
• Providing false, incomplete, or misleading information or omitting information on the forms or in the documents submitted with your application, or failing to notify the AGCO of any material changes to this information which occur after an application is filed, may also result in the refusal, suspension or revocation of your lottery licence.
• In iAGCO, you must select your licence type and submit all required information and documents. Sample documents are available for you download to complete. Some documents may require a signature.

Additional Documents

You must scan and upload to iAGCO any required additional documents.

Conditions

The Registrar may attach one or more conditions to your licence to help you minimize risks identified during the assessment process.

You may apply to remove and/or add conditions on your licence if there has been a change in circumstances.

Modifications to Existing Licences

Follow the steps below to make changes to your licence that directly changes the licence certificate on iAGCO (pending required approval):

• Under Existing Licences / Permits / Authorizations / Registrations:
  • Click on the link to Request a Change
  • Select your licence/registration type from the drop-down list
  • Select the Type of change for the drop-down list.

Post-Event Reporting through Regulatory Submissions

A Regulatory Submission must be made online through iAGCO to submit:

1. Post-Event Reports
   1. Post-Event reports, previously referred to as Charitable Gaming Summary Reports, record the financial outcome of your events. As a Charitable Gaming Licensee, you are required to submit this report through your iAGCO online account within the time limit specified in the terms and conditions of your licence.
2. Incident Reports
   1. Incident Reports can be used to notify the AGCO of an incident of non-compliance, or to report changes or issues with technology solutions that took place at your Charitable Gaming event.

To submit a Regulatory Submission on iAGCO, click the Submit Regulatory Submissions and Notification link on the Main Menu, select the Regulatory Submission you wish to submit and follow the steps as instructed.

For more information, see the Regulatory Submissions Guide and watch the AGCO’s Regulatory Submissions: Post Event Reports video.

Requests for Assistance

If you require assistance with your application, email AGCO Customer Service at customer.service@agco.ca or call 416-326-8700 or 1-800-522-2876 (toll-free in Ontario) Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.  

You may also submit your inquiry anytime via iAGCO. The iAGCO Information page also provides additional information that may help answer your questions.

Following the launch of iAGCO on October 26, 2020, the Bingo Hall Charities Association (HCA) must submit an application package to their municipality to obtain a Bingo authorization. Note this application package is not submitted within iAGCO and it no longer includes the AGCO Summary Application.

The municipality will then assess and determine the eligibility of each member charity. If approved, the HCA will receive an authorization number from the municipality. The HCA must then include that authorization number (or multiple authorization numbers, if applicable) in a separate application to the AGCO through iAGCO.

To submit your Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence application in iAGCO, follow the steps below. Also ensure to carefully read each Note where applicable for important information.

1. Login to iAGCO. Click Start a New Application under New Applications.

2. Select Charitable Gaming Lottery Licences in the next window and click Next.

Note:

• Certain charitable gaming licences are issued by municipal and First Nations licensing authorities while others are issued by the AGCO. See the Introduction: Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence Guide section above for more information.
• Use the navigation buttons at the bottom of each page to easily move through and save your application. Most pages include three navigation buttons: Back, Save Draft, and Next.
• Back - Navigate back to the previous page of the application.
• Save Draft - Select this button to save the information entered up to and including that page. Note that information may be lost if you leave your application open without saving for an extended period of time.
• Next - Proceed to the next page of the application.

3. Choose Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence as the type of application. Review the important notes and have the following required items to submit the application:
   • Signed declarations from the member organizations’ Charitable Gaming Applications
   • Charitable Gaming Event Spreadsheet, completed with Municipal Authorization numbers
   • House Rules
   • Rules of Play
   • Game Schedule
   • Completed and signed Signature of Principals form.

Click Next to proceed.   

Note:

• The Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence application permits an administrator to apply for a Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence.
• The AGCO may issue a Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence to a Hall Charity Association on behalf of its member organizations.
  • Hall Charity Association’s administrators are responsible for submitting applications for this licence type and for all reporting.
• In pooling bingo halls, proceeds from licensed charitable gaming events (such as bingo, break open ticket lotteries and raffles) are pooled and distributed to the licensees and the Operator of the bingo hall according to the Bingo Revenue Model.

4. On the New Application – Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence – Lottery Licence page, ensure your personal contact information is correct and up-to-date. Then select the person or entity applying for this licence, permit, authorization and/or registration.
   
   Enter your new application and contact information details as needed. Ensure to complete all fields marked with a red asterisk. Click Next to proceed.

Note:

• If you need to update your contact details, click Save Draft and then select My Profile in the top right corner of your screen.

5. Select your Premise Type from the drop-down menu and complete the required fields as needed. Then click Next to proceed.

Note:

• Click the checkbox beside Use My Information to automatically fill in your contact details with information you already provided. 

6. On the Hall Charities Association President and/or Designated Member(s) in Charge screen, provide the name and contact information for the Association's President. Additional contacts are optional.
   
   In the Lottery Details section, provide the start and end dates during which your lottery event(s) will be conducted and the total number of bingo events in the period. Also provide Member Organization names and municipal licence numbers. Click Add to add a single row or Add 10 to add ten rows at once.
   
   Note: You must list all member organizations and their municipal licence numbers to proceed. If you currently don’t have this information, select Save Draft to save your application and complete at a later time.

Note:

• In the case of a Hall Charity Association, provide the name and contact information for the Association's President. Additional contacts are optional.
• For raffles, the Licence Start Date is the date of the first draw and the Licence End Date is the date of the last draw.

7. Answer Yes or No to the questions on the following screen. Also provide additional details in text boxes, if applicable. Click Next.

8. On the Documents to Attach screen, upload Required Documents as instructed. Click Upload File to attach files. Click Next to proceed.

Note:

• Other documents may be provided at any time during the application process. Documents may be submitted in image formats.
• Ensure to select the Document Type for each file once uploaded and attached to your application. A green check mark box will appear beside each document type once selected.

9. If there are any errors or missing information for a required field, you will be instructed to fix each one on the Errors on Application page. Click Fix next to each error to correct or provide the required information.
   
   If there are no remaining errors on required fields, you will see a Declaration. Carefully review the declaration and check the box to declare that all information provided in the application is true and correct. Click Submit Application.

Note:

• Bingo Hall Charity Associations are required to submit a Regulatory Submission following Charitable Gaming events on a monthly basis. There are two types of Regulatory Submissions available through your iAGCO online account: Post-Event Reports and Incident Reports.
  • A Post-Event report records the financial outcome of your events. As a Charitable Gaming Licensee, you are required to submit this report through your iAGCO online account within the time limit specified in the terms and conditions of your licence.
  • An Incident Report can be used to notify the AGCO of an incident of non-compliance, or to report changes or issues with technology solutions that took place at your Charitable Gaming event.

Please see the Regulatory Submissions guide for more information.

10. Congratulations! You’ve submitted your Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence application!
    
    You will receive a confirmation email shortly with an attachment containing the information you entered in your application. An Application Summary will also be available for download within 15 minutes on the Main Menu under My Applications Under Review.
    
    You can also provide the AGCO with additional information and documentation as required or withdraw your application under the My Applications Under Review section of your iAGCO account home page.
    
    We hope this guide helped you prepare for and complete your Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence application in iAGCO.
    
    If you have any questions or would like to provide comments or feedback on the application process, please contact AGCO Customer Service. Email customer.service@agco.ca or call 416-326-8700 or 1-800-522-2876 (toll-free in Ontario) from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.