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In Canadian charitable gaming, rules of play are the written terms that explain how a raffle operates. They describe what participants are agreeing to when they purchase a ticket and provide provincial gaming regulators with a clear picture of how the raffle is intended to run.

Why Licensing Is Often the Most Confusing Step Organizations exploring online raffles often focus on technology, marketing, or prizes, only to discover later that licensing rules determine whether a raffle can happen at all. In Canada, raffle licensing is not centralized, and online availability does not simplify the process.

Start Here: Eligibility Comes Before Everything Else Before thinking about ticket sales, platforms, or marketing, every organization must answer one critical question: is the organization actually eligible to run a raffle? In Canada, eligibility is determined by provincial gaming regulators and depends on purpose, benefit, and governance — not simply nonprofit status.

The Short Answer Yes — online raffles are legal in Canada, but only when they are run by eligible organizations and licensed by the appropriate provincial gaming regulator. There is no single national raffle license, and selling raffle tickets online without proper provincial authorization is not permitted.

Running an online raffle in Canada requires more than choosing a website or selling tickets online. An organization must first confirm it is eligible, apply for and receive a raffle license from the appropriate provincial gaming regulator, work through any required revisions during the review process, and only then launch ticket sales using a platform that matches the approved rules.