Small Games of Chance & Bingo

Eligible Organizations

An eligible organization is one of the following types of entities and must be in existence and fulfilling its purpose for one year in order to be eligible for a game of chance license:

• Charitable
• Religious
• Fraternal or Veteran’s Organization
• Club, Civic and Service Association
• Affiliated non-profit organization of a major league sports team

Small Games of Chance Licenses

There are two types of Small Games of Chance licenses available to eligible organizations:

• Regular License:  A regular license is an annual license, and the term runs for a calendar year from the date of issuance. The fee for an annual license is $125.
• Monthly License:  A monthly license is valid for 30 consecutive days from the date of issuance. There is no restriction on the number of monthly licenses an eligible organization may obtain, but the license may not overlap. The fee for a monthly license is $25.

Special Raffle Permits:  Special raffle permits are available to regular and monthly licenses.  The special raffle permit authorizes a holder to conduct a raffle that exceeds the normal prize limits applicable to games of chance ($2,000).  A licensed eligible organization may obtain up to 10 special raffle permits per year. Total prize awarded under all special raffle permits may not exceed $150,000. Volunteer fire, ambulance, rescue or conservation organizations may obtain up to 12 special raffle permits and award up to $250,000 in prizes. The fee is $25.

Please refer to Pennsylvania Department of Revenue REV-1750 for additional information on types of games and prize limits. Pull-tab games, punch boards and race night games for use in the Commonwealth may only be produced by manufacturers registered with the Department of Revenue. Please refer to the Small Games of Chance Distributors List.

Bingo

There are four types of licenses available to eligible organizations:

• Regular Application $100 
• Senior Citizens Group $50  (Games for their members only.)
• 3-Day Only $15 (Games no more than 3 consecutive days in one year.)
• Entertainment Only $0 (Games for entertainment only, all prizes are nominal.)

No more than twice in any one week, except an association shall be permitted to conduct the game of bingo for a period not to exceed ten days at the association's exposition, carnival, or fair site. Please refer to the Bingo Law – Rules for Licensing and Operation and Penalty for additional information.

Please note that if you are conducting Bingo and will be selling raffles and/or 50/50 chances a Small Games of Chance license is also required.

This information is not intended to be, nor should be construed, as legal advice. 

Forms

• Eligible Organization Games of Chance Application*
• Special Raffle Application 
• Bingo Application*