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Hold gaming under a licence
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Northwest Territories stands fully covered: its own filings and guidance stand in the books beside the federal ones.
A raffle, a bingo or a draw runs only under a licence.
A lottery in the Northwest Territories — a bingo, a raffle, a Nevada ticket or a casino — runs only under a licence, and only a charitable or religious organization may hold one. The Department of Municipal and Community Affairs licenses and regulates charity lotteries; in 16 communities the licensing authority sits with the community government, and everywhere else the application goes to the department. The licence’s terms hold the proceeds apart from every other fund, spend them on the objects the application names, and ask for a complete statement of account within thirty days after the lottery. Binds: Northwest Territories charitable or religious organizations (Lotteries Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. L-49).
The law’s own words
“Subject to these regulations, the Minister may issue a licence to a charitable or religious organization to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in the Northwest Territories.”
Lotteries Act (Northwest Territories) — Lotteries Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. L-49, s. 3(1) · Read it at Government of the Northwest Territories · Verified 2026-11-08
“the proceeds of the lottery scheme shall be disbursed either in accordance with objects or purposes set out on the application form, or in a manner expressly authorized by the Minister”
Lotteries Act (Northwest Territories) — Lotteries Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. L-49, s. 9(1) · Read it at Government of the Northwest Territories · Verified 2026-11-08
“the proceeds from all lotteries shall be kept separate from all other funds with separate records being maintained and all financial aspects of the lottery shall be conducted in accordance with these regulations”
Lotteries Act (Northwest Territories) — Lotteries Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. L-49, s. 9(1) · Read it at Government of the Northwest Territories · Verified 2026-11-08
“a complete statement of account, showing the total receipts, expenses and profits and indicating when and how such profits will be spent for the charitable or religious objects or purposes set out in the application, shall be filed with the Minister at the address stated in section 5 within 30 days after the holding of any lottery on a form approved by the Minister”
Lotteries Act (Northwest Territories) — Lotteries Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. L-49, s. 9(1) · Read it at Government of the Northwest Territories · Verified 2026-11-08
“MACA licenses and regulates charity bingos, Nevada tickets, casinos and raffles under the Lotteries Act, which covers gambling permitted under the Criminal Code of Canada.”
Lotteries Act (Northwest Territories) — Government of the Northwest Territories, Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, Lottery Licensing · Read it at Justice Laws · Verified 2026-11-11
Northwest Territories Lotteries Regulations, section 3
“Subject to these regulations, the Minister may issue a licence to a charitable or religious organization to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in the Northwest Territories.”
Source: Government of the Northwest Territories — Lotteries Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. L-49, s. 3 · Checked 2026-11-08
Northwest Territories Lotteries Regulations, section 9
“the proceeds of the lottery scheme shall be disbursed either in accordance with objects or purposes set out on the application form, or in a manner expressly authorized by the Minister” “the proceeds from all lotteries shall be kept separate from all other funds with separate records being maintained and all financial aspects of the lottery shall be conducted in accordance with these regulations” “a complete statement of account, showing the total receipts, expenses and profits and indicating when and how such profits will be spent for the charitable or religious objects or purposes set out in the application, shall be filed with the Minister at the address stated in section 5 within 30 days after the holding of any lottery on a form approved by the Minister”
Source: Government of the Northwest Territories — Lotteries Regulations, R.R.N.W.T. 1990, c. L-49, s. 9 · Checked 2026-11-08
Northwest Territories Lotteries Act — Municipal and Community Affairs, lottery licensing
“MACA licenses and regulates charity bingos, Nevada tickets, casinos and raffles under the Lotteries Act, which covers gambling permitted under the Criminal Code of Canada.” “Lottery licensing authority now rests with 16 NWT communities” “For a lottery license in one of the 16 communities listed above, please contact the community government directly.”
Source: Government of the Northwest Territories — Municipal and Community Affairs, Lottery Licensing · Checked 2026-11-11