Eligible Organizations

All lottery licences issued through a municipality must have a charitable purpose. Only those organizations which have a charitable mandate and use proceeds for charitable purposes can receive a lottery licence.

On this page:

1. Charitable classifications
2. Ineligible organizations
3. Eligibility application questionnaire

Charitable classifications

There are four classifications of charitable purposes for lottery licensing in Ontario:

Relief of poverty

Programs and services that assist the economically disadvantaged by directly providing goods, social services, programs or facilities to alleviate the effects of living in poverty. This may include soup kitchens, help for the homeless or food banks.

Advancement of education

Organizations that provide significant training or instruction; development of mental faculties; or improvement of a branch of human knowledge resulting in a public benefit. Instruction must be available to a wide section of the public and not be restricted.

Advancement of religion

Organizations that promote a religious group's spiritual teachings and maintenance of doctrines and spiritual observances upon which those teachings are based. The group's activities must include an element of public instruction and promotion of spiritual teachings, serving religious purpose for the public good.

Other charitable purposes beneficial to the community

This category includes activities that benefit the whole community, without discrimination, so that the purposes have a truly public character and may include:

• Arts and Culture
• Health and Welfare
• Amateur Sports Organizations
• Enhancement of Youth
• Public Safety Programs
• Community Service Organizations

Ineligible organizations

Organizations which are ineligible for charitable lottery licences include profit making entities, organizations with no charitable mandate, those which are solely for adult recreation and those that provide private benefits to a restricted class of members.

Eligibility application questionnaire

All organizations wishing to conduct lotteries in the Town of St. Marys must complete an eligibility application. The questionnaire determines an organization’s charitable mandate and eligibility to conduct charitable lotteries. New applicants are encouraged to complete and submit these applications well in advance of potential lottery events.

Application for Licencing Eligibility