Lottery, Bingo & Number Games
Charity bingo rules
Charity bingo rules are the legal limits that apply when bingo is used to raise money for a non-commercial cause.
Key points
- The organiser must tell players the good cause in advance and use proceeds only for that cause after reasonable costs.1
- In private or residential gaming, all stakes must be returned as prizes — for example, £30 staked means £30 in prizes.2
- Charity bingo cannot be played online under the fundraising rules.1
Where this term is used
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Sources
- Bingo for fundraising gamblingcommission.gov.uk Provides the core legal conditions for charity bingo, including stake and prize limits.
- Eyes down, how to play bingo in a retirement home gamblingcommission.gov.uk Supports the rule that all stakes must be returned as prizes in private/residential gaming.
Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.