Charities in Alberta will now have more flexibility on how they can spend the money they earn from licensed gaming activities

News Release

Less red tape, more freedoms for Alberta’s charities

Charities in Alberta will now have more flexibility on how they can spend the money they earn from licensed gaming activities.

Alberta’s government is cutting red tape for Alberta’s charities by introducing changes that give charitable groups much broader discretion in determining how gaming proceeds are used to support their programs and services. This opens up more options for how charities can spend their gaming revenue on delivering services, without delays or the need for additional approvals, so that they can better support Albertans.

“Alberta’s charitable groups are the backbone of our communities. By giving them greater flexibility in how they use funds raised through licensed charitable gaming, we’re not just cutting red tape—we’re empowering them to continue delivering vital services and support to Albertans.”

Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction
The updates shift the focus of AGLC policy to the types of activities and programming a charity can use their gaming revenue for, rather than based on their organization type. The policy amendments will appear in Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis’ (AGLC) Charitable Gaming Policies Handbook and will come into effect April 1, 2025.

“Alberta’s unique charitable gaming model supports over 23,000 charities in their work every year. The added flexibility in how charitable groups can use their earnings will help them continue to make a real difference for Albertans and communities throughout our province.”

Kandice Machado, CEO, AGLC
Bigger thresholds for approvals, wider discretion for expenses
AGLC has added a wide range of proceeds categories, and raised thresholds for spending before approvals are required, giving charities wide discretion in determining eligible expenses. Examples include:

Groups can retain proceeds up to $50,000 without AGLC approval (previously $10,000).
Charitable groups can now use $100,000 of gaming proceeds to conduct community events without AGLC approval.
The limit for administrative expenses has increased to 30 per cent from 20 per cent.
Approvals for all travel have been eliminated.
The limit for facility renovations and leasehold improvements without approval has been increased to $100,000 from $50,000.
Quick facts
Alberta is the only province that licenses charities to conduct and manage casino events that support charitable organizations.
Alberta’s charitable gaming model gives eligible charitable and religious groups the opportunity to directly benefit from the proceeds (revenue less expense) of casino, bingo, pull-tickets, and raffle events.
In 2023-24, charitable organizations earned more than $409 million in proceeds through charitable gaming events, with $79 million raised by Host First Nation charities.
In 2023-24, AGLC provided 3,462 charity licenses for casino events with charities earning $276.9 million.
In 2023-24, more than $1.5 billion in net gaming revenue was allocated to the province’s General Revenue Fund.