Gaming / forms

What is Charitable Gaming?

Under the Criminal Code of Canada all gaming activity is essentially illegal. However, there are exceptions, such as licensed gaming, regulated by a licensing and regulatory authority.

Charitable Gaming means lottery schemes which are licensed and operated to provide benefit to charitable or religious organizations. Bingos, Texas Hold'em Poker Tournaments, Monte Carlo's, Breakopens and Raffles are the types of lottery schemes that are be considered charitable gaming.

The proceeds of these activities must benefit a charitable organization, as per Section 207 of the Criminal Code of Canada. The proceeds from such gaming must be used for approved charitable or religious objects and purposes.

In general, the use of proceeds is based on eligibility – if the organization is eligible, it may use the proceeds for its charitable purpose.

The licensing authority must also be satisfied that it is only carrying out charitable activities and those charitable activates fall within the organization’s objects. The test of charitableness is both a legal one and a factual one.

The Criminal Code of Canada does not provide guidelines on some key terms, such as charitable purposes, to which proceeds raised by charitable gaming activities must be applied. IGR, therefore, has adopted common law principles which have been used by the Supreme Court of Canada. These principles identify four categories of classification used to determine what constitutes a charitable or religious object or purpose:

 

1. Relief of Poverty
 

2. Advancement of Education

 

3. Advancement of Religion

 

4. Other Purposes Beneficial To The Community

 

(see Eligibility & Use of Proceeds for detailed criteria)

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF GAMING IN CANADA

Year
 Event
1892 Criminal Code of Canada enacted.
1901 Exemption for raffles at any bazaar held for charitable and religious objects.
1906 The phrase “lottery scheme” inserted into the Code.
1909 - 1910 Select Committee of House of Commons convened to inquire into horserace betting.
1910 Betting limited to horserace tracks.
1917 Order-in-Council suspends betting as “incommensurate” with war effort.
1919 - 1920 Royal Commission in [sic] Racing Inquiry convened to examine horserace betting.
1920 Racetrack betting reinstated using pari-mutuel system.
1922 Offence created for betting on dice games, shell games, punchboards, coin tables, or wheels of fortune.
1925 Select games of chance including wheels of fortune permitted at agricultural fairs and exhibitions.
1938 Gambling on the premises of bona fide social clubs permitted if operators did not exact a percentage of the stakes.
1954 Game of three card monte added to the list of prohibited games.
1954 Special Joint Committee of House of Commons & Senate convened to examine need for law reform in regard to lotteries. Recommends no state lotteries but calls for greater clarity in existing provisions.
1969 Federal & provincial governments allowed to conduct lotteries, broadening of charitable gambling under provincial licence, continuation of exemption for fairs and exhibitions.
1973 - 1985 Federal – provincial conflict over authority to conduct lotteries.
1985 Provinces delegated exclusive authority to manage and conduct lotteries and lottery schemes, including games conducted via a computer, video device, or slot machines. Betting on horse races via telephone permitted.
1998 Prohibitions against dice games removed from Code.