TSD 446
Charitable Gaming
Bingo and Raffle events may not be conducted online or in-person in West Virginia without a license issued by the West
Virginia Tax Division, unless it meets a qualied exemption.
Any charitable or public service organization must have been in existence in West Virginia for at least two years to apply for a
Bingo license or Raffle License unless an applicable exemption applies. Applications can be found online at tax.wv.gov. Initial
applications require a 60-day waiting period for approval. Renewal applications are not subject to the same waiting period.
No bingo or raffle event can be held until the applicant has an approved application and the charitable license. Persons under
the age of 18 may not play or participate in the conduct of bingo games but are permitted to participate in raffles.
Alcohol is prohibited from being a prize at a bingo or raffle event. Alcohol can only be sold at a raffle event.
Online Bingo and Raffle Events must comply with all the same rules that apply to in-person
gaming.
Eligible organizations wishing to conduct charitable bingo or charitable raffles online should
know that a West Virginia charitable gaming license authorizes the games in West Virginia
only. Persons are not permitted to play online if they are not physically located within West
Virginia at the time they are playing. As a result, online gaming systems must use
geo-fencing applications to restrict play to persons within the appropriate state.
Organizations may pay a reasonable fee for access to an online gaming platform, but may
not enter into a prot-sharing agreement or any other agreement where the payment for
access to the platform is based on a percentage of gross revenues. All leases, contracts,
or other agreements require the advanced approval of the Tax Commissioner.
Raffle Exemption:
A raffle event can be exempt from the licensing
requirements if the organization has been in
existence in the state for at least one year so long
as the organization does not sell more than
$15,000 worth of tickets in any calendar year and
does not award any individual prize valued at
more than $4,000. See W. Va. Code § 47-21-3.
The West Virginia Tax Division can issue an
“Exempt Certicate” to a qualifying organization if
requested, but the organization is not required to
have the certicate in order to hold the raffle
event.
Ineligible organizations include but
are not limited to: for-prot
organizations, any nonprot
association or organization which is
organized primarily for the purposes
of influencing legislation or
supporting or promoting the
campaign of any candidate for public
ofce
TSD 446 | Charitable Gaming
Rev. January 2024 | West Virginia Tax Division
For more information,
you can:
• Call a Taxpayer
Services
Representative at
(304)558-3333 or
toll-free at
(800) 982-8297
• Email
• Go Online to
tax.wv.gov
This publication provides general information and is not meant to be a substitute for tax laws or regulations.
