Florida Charitable Gaming Laws: Eligible Nonprofits and Penalties

Florida charitable gaming laws let qualifying nonprofits raise money through bingo, instant bingo (pull-tabs), and raffles, but only under Chapter 849 of the Florida Statutes and only within tight limits on frequency, prize size, staffing, and use of proceeds. Every other form of gambling remains prohibited, and a willful slip on any single requirement can turn a fundraiser into a criminal case.

Which Nonprofits Qualify

Three conditions have to be met at the same time. The organization must hold a federal tax exemption under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code or under Section 528 (which covers certain homeowner associations). It must actively engage in charitable, civic, community, benevolent, religious, or scholastic work. And it must have been in existence and active for at least three years before conducting any games.¹ The three-year waiting period is the requirement that catches newer groups off guard.

Location matters too. The organization must sit in the same county as the game, or within 15 miles of where the game takes place.¹ A charity cannot rent a hall two counties away to host a bingo night.

Residential Associations

Condominium associations, cooperative associations, homeowners’ associations, mobile home owners’ associations, and certain resident groups in mobile home or recreational vehicle parks can run bingo under different profit rules. Net proceeds go back to players as prizes after actual operating expenses. Any leftover can be donated to a qualifying 501(c) charity, but it cannot be kept for general association use.¹

The Three Games You Can Actually Run

Florida limits charitable gaming to traditional bingo, instant bingo, and raffles (called “drawings by chance” in the statute). Poker nights, roulette, craps, and slot machines are not on the list and are criminal to run.

Traditional Bingo

A qualifying organization may host bingo games no more than two days per week. A jackpot cannot exceed $250 in cash or its equivalent. No more than three jackpots may be awarded in a single session or day of play. All other game prizes top out at $50.¹ The caps are low by commercial-bingo standards because the legislature treats charitable bingo as a fundraising tool rather than an entertainment product.

Instant Bingo (Pull-Tabs)

Instant bingo uses pre-printed tickets where a player peels back a cover to reveal a winning or losing combination. It is not capped at two days per week, but it carries its own rules. Each ticket costs no more than $1, and volume discounts are prohibited. Each deal, meaning a set of up to 4,000 tickets, must pay out at least 65 percent of total receipts in prizes. Every deal must be accompanied by a posted flare showing the game name, manufacturer, ticket count, prize structure, and cost per play. Tickets must also comply with North American Gaming Regulators Association standards so a player cannot identify a winner before opening it.¹

Raffles

Raffles sit under a separate statute, Section 849.0935, with their own disclosure rules. The organization must comply with Chapter 496 (Florida’s solicitation of contributions law) and the raffle statute itself. All brochures, advertisements, tickets, and entry forms must conspicuously state that no purchase or contribution is necessary to enter or win.² A suggested donation is fine; a required one is not. Omitting the “no purchase necessary” language is itself a second-degree misdemeanor, even if the drawing is run honestly.

Who Can Run the Game, and Who Cannot Play

Everyone involved in running a bingo game or instant bingo session must be a bona fide member of the sponsoring organization and a resident of the community where that organization is located. Nobody working the game may be compensated in any form, including salary, stipend, or thank-you meals. The organization designates up to three members to be in charge, and at least one of those designated members has to be physically present for the entire session. A notice identifying the organization and the designated members must be posted visibly at the venue. A caller in a bingo game cannot also play in that game.¹

Nobody under 18 may play bingo or instant bingo, or help run one in any capacity.¹

Where the Money Has to Go

The whole point of the exception is to move money to charity, and the profit rules leave no wiggle room. The entire proceeds from bingo and instant bingo, minus only the actual business expenses for items essential to running the game, must go to the organization’s charitable, civic, community, benevolent, religious, or scholastic activities. The statute says “in no case” may the net proceeds be used for any other purpose.¹

The allowable expense deduction is narrow. Bingo cards, daubers, pull-tab tickets, and similar game supplies are in. Rent, utilities, staff time, advertising, and general overhead are out. Organizations that pencil out a bingo night without honoring that limitation almost always overestimate their margin.

Diverting proceeds to benefit individual members, officers, or employees is not just a state violation. Under IRC Section 4958, when a tax-exempt organization gives an insider an economic benefit that exceeds what the organization received back, the IRS treats it as an excess benefit transaction. The insider must repay the excess plus interest at no less than the applicable federal rate, and the IRS can layer excise taxes on top.³ In serious cases the organization can lose its tax exemption, which also strips its eligibility to run charitable gaming in Florida.

Registration and Reporting

State: FDACS

Any charitable organization that solicits contributions in Florida, gaming included, must register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before soliciting, unless it qualifies for an exemption.⁴ Registration renews annually.

Small organizations get a limited exemption, but the conditions matter as much as the dollar figure. The organization must receive less than $50,000 in total contributions during the fiscal year, all fundraising must be carried out by uncompensated volunteers, members, or officers, no organizational assets or income can benefit any officer or member, and no professional fundraiser or solicitor can be used. Even exempt small organizations file an annual information form with FDACS listing name, address, tax-exempt status, fiscal year end, and the individuals responsible for handling contributions.⁵ If contributions unexpectedly reach $50,000 during the year, the organization has 30 days to register.

Local Sheriff

Local law enforcement, typically the sheriff’s office in the county where the game takes place, also oversees charitable gaming. Many counties require separate registration or advance notice. Because the specifics vary, call the sheriff’s office well before the first event.

Federal

Organizations with more than $15,000 in gross gaming income complete Schedule G and attach it to Form 990.⁶ Individual prize payouts can also trigger Form W-2G reporting; the general federal threshold for bingo and slot machine winnings is $1,200.⁷ With Florida’s $250 jackpot ceiling, traditional bingo will rarely hit that number, but instant bingo prizes shown on the flare are not subject to the $250 cap, so W-2G obligations remain live for pull-tab operators.

Federal Tax: Why Following State Law Matters Twice

Nonprofits normally owe tax on income from activities unrelated to their exempt purpose. Two exclusions typically protect Florida charitable gaming.

Under IRC Section 513(f), bingo is excluded from “unrelated trade or business” as long as it is not the kind of game ordinarily carried on commercially and does not violate state or local law.⁸ Florida’s low prize caps, volunteer labor, and frequency limits generally keep compliant games inside the exclusion. Break one state rule (paying a caller, blowing the prize ceiling) and the exclusion collapses, making that session’s revenue taxable.⁹

Under IRC Section 513(a)(1), any trade or business is excluded from unrelated status when substantially all the work is done by uncompensated volunteers.⁹ Florida already bans paid gaming workers, so a compliant operation clears this second exclusion as well. Raffles do not benefit from the bingo-specific exclusion in Section 513(f) and can produce taxable income if they are conducted regularly rather than as occasional fundraisers.

Penalties

A willful and knowing violation of Section 849.0931 (bingo or instant bingo) is a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in jail.¹ A second or subsequent bingo offense is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.¹⁰ That felony exposure is written into the bingo statute itself.

A raffle violation under Section 849.0935 is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail.²¹⁰ Selling raffle tickets without the required “no purchase necessary” disclosure carries a fine-only penalty under the same provision.

The criminal case is not always the worst consequence. A violation can disqualify the organization from future charitable gaming and can generate unrelated business income tax liability on every noncompliant session’s revenue. For a nonprofit that depends on gaming to fund its mission, one bad night can produce problems that last long after the citation.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 849.0931 – Bingo Authorized; Conditions for Conduct
2
Florida House of Representatives. Florida Code 849.0935 – Charitable, Nonprofit Organizations; Drawings by Chance; Required Disclosures; Unlawful Acts and Practices; Penalties
3
Internal Revenue Service. Intermediate Sanctions – Excess Benefit Transactions
4
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Solicitation of Contributions
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 496 – Solicitation of Contributions Act
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule G (Form 990)
7
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 513 – Unrelated Trade or Business
9
Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Gaming and Unrelated Business Taxable Income
10
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences