Lottery Licenses

Definition of a Lottery Event

A lottery event contains three (3) components: Consideration or Fee, Chance and Prize.

Applicant Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of each applicant whose signature appears on the License Application and/or anyone who is taking responsibility for the conduct of the lottery event to read and fully understand the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario's (AGCO) Terms and Conditions relating to the type of lottery scheme being conducted. Terms and Conditions are available at the Municipality of Highlands East or on the AGCO website.

The AGCO website has a list of Types of Lottery Licenses and Charitable Gaming information 

Lottery License Eligibility

To determine if you are eligible to obtain a lottery license, please fill out the Lottery Licensing Eligibility and the Use of Proceeds Package.

Lottery License Checklist

Follow the steps detailed below to successfully obtain a Lottery License in Highlands East.

  1. To be eligible for a license an organization must have carried out activities consistent with their charitable purpose for a minimum of one (1) year.
  2. Silent Auctions do not require a lottery license.
  3. Organizations applying for a Lottery License in the Province of Ontario are required by law to have a Lottery Trust Account at any Chartered Bank, Loan or Trust company or Province of Ontario Savings Office and provide proof of such to the Licensing Officer at the Municipality. (Note: Guaranteed Investment Accounts (GIC) do not qualify.)
  4. Please complete the Lottery License Application and submit with the applicable fee and a sample ticket, thirty (30) days prior to the lottery event start date.
  5. Complete the Lottery License Application in its entirety. Print clearly and legibly. Do not leave any blank spaces. If the information is not available or not applicable to your situation write "n/a" in the space provided. Incomplete or illegible forms will not be processed.
  6. The full name of the organization, full mailing address with day time contact telephone numbers, and email address must be specific in description.
  7. Details of Local Charities, Religious Organizations, or other purposes for which the lottery proceeds are to be dispersed must be specific in description and the recipient must qualify under the AGCO’s terms and conditions to receive the proceeds.
  8. The proceeds raised from the lottery event must benefit the community and cannot be used for general administrative cost for any organization.
  9. The total value of all prizes to be awarded is based on the retail market value (including taxes); this includes prizes that have been donated.
  10. The prize value must be a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of the anticipated gross proceeds of the total sale of all tickets.
  11. If the total value of the prizes to be awarded is in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) an irrevocable letter of credit from a Chartered Bank of Canada, or other registered financial institution in Ontario, must be submitted to and made payable to the Licensing Authority (Municipality of Highlands East), which expires no sooner than forty five (45) days after the last day of the lottery event as specified in the license. (The irrevocable letter of credit will be returned once all lottery reports are submitted and information verified).
  12. The total number of tickets to be printed must be determined and indicated on the application.
  13. If applicable, attach a copy of the Gaming Control Act Certificate of Registration for the retail location where the Break Open Tickets are to be sold. (Nevada only)
  14. If applicable, attach a copy of the Agreement to Sell Break Open (Nevada) tickets (Charity-Retailer agreement).
  15. Applications take approximately ten (10) business days to process. Lottery Licenses will not be faxed but can be mailed if time permits.
  16. Municipal staff will not divulge Lottery License numbers over the phone.
  17. Please read the statement of certificate on the license before signing your name on the application. If you do not agree with any of the statements made or have not read and fully understood the Terms and Conditions as outlined by the AGCO than do not sign the application until such time as you agree to and understand the Terms and Conditions. Please be aware that it is an offence under the Gaming Control Act and the Criminal Code of Canada to conduct a lottery event in the Province of Ontario without a Lottery License, or to conduct an event outside of the Terms and Conditions under which the license was granted.
    (Note: All signatures on the application must be done in the presence of the Municipal Licensing Officer.)
  18. If any one of the above steps have not been completed a license will not be approved and the application will be void.
  19. A copy of the Applicant’s complete budget, covering the current twelve (12) months fiscal or calendar year and detailing how financial resources will be acquired and dispersed during this period.
  20. A copy of your organizations previous year-end financial statement.
  21. A detailed description of your organizations activities must be included.
  22. Details of proposed use of lottery proceeds. Please note that the proposed use of proceeds must be consistent with the primary objects and purposes of the organization which must be of a charitable nature consistent with at least one (of the four (4) classifications of charitable purposes.
  23. The Municipality will require that your organization pass a Bylaw stating that: if the organization should dissolve, the organization will be liable to provide a distribution of the organization’s assets and property held or acquired from proceeds of licensed lottery events (i.e. lottery trust accounts or property purchased with lottery proceeds) to charitable organizations that are eligible to receive lottery proceeds in Ontario.
  24. Any other information that will assist in determining the charitable nature of the organizations objectives and purpose must be included. This could include an annual report, charitable number for income tax purposes, your latest report to the Public Trustee or the fact that the organization meets the reporting requirements of the Charities Accounting Act.
  • A Lottery Report must be submitted to the Municipality of Highlands East within 30 days after the event.
  • Failure to submit Reports can result in future applications being delayed in processing or denied.
  • An appointment with the Municipal Licensing Officer must be booked to submit the application for consideration.

Lottery Application Forms

Lottery applications for all types of lotteries administered by the municipality can be obtained at the Wilberforce Municipal Office. The most common application is for the Application to Manage and Conduct a Raffle Lottery. Other application forms can also be downloaded from the AGCO website.

For further inquiry please contact the Lottery Licensing Officer at 705-448-2981 x422 during regular business hours or by emailing us.