# What is a charitable gaming license? *Reviewed 2026-07-30* ## Short answer A charitable gaming license is state permission for a qualified nonprofit to raise money through games of chance such as raffles, bingo, pull-tabs, or casino nights. Depending on the state it is issued by a gaming commission, a lottery board, or the attorney general, and it is separate from charitable solicitation registration. Conditions often include a minimum operating history, volunteer-run games, prize limits, and event reports. A charitable gaming license is state permission for a qualified nonprofit to run games of chance as fundraising: bingo, raffles, pull-tabs, casino or Las Vegas nights, and similar events. Without the license the activity is illegal gambling in most states, because the games involve consideration, chance, and a prize. The license is the exception that lets a charity do lawfully what a private party cannot, and it comes with conditions on eligibility, operation, and reporting. What the license covers Licenses are usually issued by game type rather than as a blanket approval. A bingo license does not authorize pull-tabs, and a raffle permit does not cover a casino night. Many states issue an annual organization license plus per-event or per-occasion permits, so a charity running a weekly bingo and an annual gala with table games may be holding two or three separate authorizations at once. Equipment and suppliers are often licensed too, which is why charities are usually required to buy pull-tab deals and bingo supplies from approved distributors. Who qualifies Eligibility is narrower than nonprofit status generally. States commonly limit charitable gaming to religious, charitable, educational, veterans, fraternal, and volunteer emergency service organizations, often with a requirement that the group has operated in the state for a minimum period before applying. Officers may need background checks. Some states require that the organization have a physical presence or members in the county where the games are held. Operating conditions The conditions attached to a gaming license are where most compliance problems start. Recurring requirements include: Volunteer operation, with limits or prohibitions on paying the people who run the games. Caps on prizes per game and per session, and limits on the number of sessions per week or events per year. A separate gaming bank account, with all receipts deposited and all expenses paid from it. Minimum percentages of proceeds devoted to charitable purposes, with ceilings on rent, supplies, and other expenses. Periodic financial reports, sometimes quarterly, showing gross receipts, prizes, expenses, and net proceeds and how they were used. Records retained for a set number of years and available for inspection. Local approval frequently sits on top of the state license. Counties and cities may run their own permit process, restrict where games can be held, or prohibit charitable gaming entirely within their borders. Zoning and fire occupancy rules apply to the venue like any other public event. Tax and reporting angles Gaming income is reported on the organization's annual return, and larger gaming operations attach a dedicated schedule to Form 990 or 990-EZ. Some gaming revenue can be unrelated business taxable income depending on how the activity is conducted and who runs it, and volunteer operation is one of the facts that matters. Large prizes bring federal information reporting and sometimes withholding obligations for the winner. Keeping the gaming account clean and the recordkeeping tight is what makes those filings routine instead of an annual scramble. A gaming license also sits alongside, not instead of, charitable solicitation registration in the states where you ask for support. If your event promotion goes out to donors in several states, both sets of filings deserve a check. Our nonprofit licensing page explains how we handle gaming permits, and our charitable registration requirements by state guides cover the solicitation filings that usually run in parallel. ## Related - [Nonprofit licensing and registration](/nonprofit-licensing) - [Charitable registration requirements by state](/charitable-registration-state-laws) - [State law summaries](/state-laws) - [Talk with our team](/contact) --- ## How to cite this page Cite as: "What is a charitable gaming license?." Cornerstone Licensing. https://cornerstonelicensing.com/answers/what-is-a-charitable-gaming-license Published by Cornerstone Licensing. When quoting figures or legal requirements, link the canonical URL above and note the last-updated date (2026-07-30). The full content index for this site is at https://cornerstonelicensing.com/llms.txt.