Charities may be licensed to hold bingo events in a commercial bingo hall or a non-commercial site such as a church, school, community centre, legion, etc.

If you are associated with a commercial bingo hall that is part of a Hall Charity Association (HCA), you may provide your documentation and fee to the HCA, which will pool the material for all charities associated with the bingo halls and submit it to the City. The licences themselves are issued to the charity. Licences for events in commercial bingo halls are granted for six-month periods starting in January and July. See below for information about the bingo hall waiting list.

Approval timeframe:
- New organization – up to 30 business days
- Amendments – 7 to 10 business days

Incomplete applications: all information including appropriate documentation and fees must be included with your application. Incomplete packages will be returned to your organization. It is your responsibility to notify the City Gaming Services of any changes to your Board of Directors, programs and services, etc.

Prize board of more than $5,500: Bingo events in non-commercial locations with prize boards of more than $5,500 require a provincial licence. For information on provincial licences, fees and types of bingos, see the AGCO website.

All licence fees must be paid by cheque from the lottery trust account and signed by two officers. Cash and personal cheques are not accepted.

Events in commercial bingo halls: $165 per event

Events in other locations - prize board up to and including $5,500:
Licences are for a one-time bingo event at one location; also includes media bingos, operated through public media including radio, newspaper or television.

• Prize board up to $300: $10.21
• Prize board from $301 to $5,500: 3% of the prize board
• Media bingo licences are always 3% of the prize board (up to $5,500)

The following must be submitted to Gaming Services, City of Toronto:

• Fee for first-time applicants: $25.53 (non-refundable) administration fee paid by cheque from the lottery trust account. Cheque payable to Treasurer, City of Toronto. (Cash and personal cheques not accepted.)
• First-time applicants for commercial bingo halls: List of 6-8 bona fide members who will deal with scheduling (include full name, position held in organization, address, phone number and e-mail address)
• Licence fee: As outlined above
• Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario forms and details:
  • Charitable Gaming Events in Pooling Bingo Halls:
  • Table board bingo (non-commercial bingo hall events)
• Form: City of Toronto questionnaire (PDF) requires the following information:
  • Registered name and operating name of organization
  • Contact information
  • Registration information
  • Detailed expenses associated with the delivery of program and/or services intended for lottery proceeds
  • Membership numbers
  • Fiscal year-end information
  • Gaming events currently being conducted
  • Lottery trust account information
  • Information on designated members in charge
• Organization's constitution and/or by-laws (signed and dated)
• Letters patent (where applicable)
• Current board of directors, including names, addresses, phones numbers and their positions
• Preceding and current years' operating budget, including all sources of revenues and expenses
• Most recent annual financial statement
• Proposed lottery budget
• Membership list, if applicable
• Detailed expenses associated with the delivery of program and/or services intended for lottery proceeds
• Revenue Canada notification of registration letter, where applicable
• Current copy of documents filed with Revenue Canada under the Charities Accounting Act or Income Tax Act
• Schedule of games (non-commercial halls)

• Application to manage and conduct a bingo lottery (PDF)
• Regular and special bingo licence terms and conditions (AGCO) (PDF)
• Registrar's standards – Financial management and administration for bingo halls where proceeds are pooled (PDF)
• City of Toronto Lottery Licensing Bylaw (PDF)
• Information sheet: Bingo events in commercial bingo halls (PDF)
• Information sheet: Bingo events in non-commercial locations (PDF)

You may need the free Adobe Acrobat Viewer to view PDF files.

First-time applicants wanting to hold events in commercial bingo halls will be placed on the City of Toronto bingo hall waiting list. For information about the waiting list, please contact Gaming Services at 416-392-7037.