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Bingo licences

Bingo is a lottery that uses tickets of numbers. Players can win goods or gift cards or vouchers that can be exchanged for goods or services. The cards or vouchers must not be exchangeable for money. In addition to non-money prizes, winners can be given one or more free games as a prize.

Yellow bingo balls from up close, in some of the balls, you can see a combination of a letter and a number.

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Bingo is a lottery that uses tickets of numbers. Players can win goods or gift cards or vouchers that can be exchanged for goods or services. The cards or vouchers must not be exchangeable for money. In addition to non-money prizes, winners can be given one or more free games as a prize.

In bingo games are used game ticket. The bingo ticket has a grid in which numbers are placed in a random order. The bingo caller draws numbers which the players mark off on their ticket if they have a match. Bingo is the word used for a win in the game. The winner is the player whose ticket shows the numbers drawn in the game in the correct order, e.g. along a horizontal line. 

Bingo games are played in designated venues that must be fit for the purpose of running bingo games and suitable for public gatherings.

The tickets can be made of paper or can be electronic.

You will need a licence for running a bingo game. A bingo licence may be granted to a non-profit organisation or foundation. Bingo licences are not available for businesses or private individuals. The proceeds from a bingo game must be used for a non-profit purpose.

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Instructions for bingo organisers

Apply for a bingo licence in writing. A licence can be granted for a maximum period of 3 years. If you wish to continue running bingo games, you must apply for a new licence well in advance of the expiry of your previous licence. You may not continue running a bingo game if your previous licence expires before a new one has been granted.

The licensing authority for bingo games is the National Police Board. 

Submit the application and supporting documents in Finnish or Swedish. The supporting documents are mandatory. Fill in the application form carefully and ensure that the application is signed by a person or persons who, according to the extract from the Register of Associations, can act as authorised signatories. Incomplete licence applications take longer to process.
The National Police Board will need 2 to 3 months to process your bingo licence.

If you are applying for your first bingo licence, provide proof of the reliability of the drawing systems to be used in the game. You must also provide proof of the venue’s suitability for use as a bingo hall and its suitability for public gatherings. If you are renewing your licence, you don’t have to provide new proof in your application if the drawing systems and the venue have not changed since your previous bingo licence.

The purpose of bingo games is to raise funds for non-profit activities. This is why bingo games must generate a profit. If a bingo game operator has made a loss during two consecutive financial years or only generated a small profit compared to the proceeds from participation fees, a new bingo licence can only be granted on special grounds. In this is the case, the applicant must explain why a new licence should be granted. The explanation may be given in the additional information section of the licence application or in a separate supporting document.

The maximum value of the prizes that can be awarded to players is capped. The maximum value of the prizes given to players may not exceed 75% of total sales across a period of 6 months, and neither may the value of the prizes exceed 95% of total sales during one calendar month. 
A bingo licence is always subject to an accounting obligation. Produce separate accounts of the bingo operations for each of the accounting periods specified in the licence. Do not change the accounting periods specified in your licence. Submit your accounts to the National Police Board within one month of the end of each accounting period. If your organisation has previously had a bingo licence, a new licence will not be granted if you have failed to produce the accounts. 

Lottery tax is payable on the proceeds of bingo games. A new bingo licence will not be granted if you have previously neglected to pay the tax. More information on the lottery tax and its payment is available from the Tax Administration.

A bingo licence is subject to a fee.

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Bingo licence application's supporting documents:

Attach the following supporting documents to your licence application:

  • An annual report or other proof of the applicant’s activities. An annual report is the preferred form of proof. Other forms of proof are only accepted if there is no annual report. 
  • Proof of a decision concerning the running of a bingo game. This refers to an extract from the minutes of the meeting in which you decided to run the bingo game.
  • Copy of the most recent adopted financial statements (audited and signed financial statements). Financial statements must also include an auditor’s report.
  • Copy of the rules of the organisation or foundation.
  • Extract from the Finnish Register of Associations, Register of Foundations or Trade Register / extract from a register maintained by an association governed by public law. The extract may not be more than 3 months old, calculated from the date of the licence application.
  • Bingo game rules.

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Forms in Finnish and Swedish

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