Bingo Tax & License Fees

• Statutory  - 230 ILCS 25/1 to 25/7
• Regulation - Part 430

The tax is imposed on the privilege of conducting bingo games. Annual license fees are imposed on operators, providers, and suppliers of bingo games.

To operate a bingo game, the organization

• must be licensed by the state;
• be a licensed bona fide religious, charitable, labor, fraternal, youth athletic, senior citizens’, educational, or veterans’ organization in Illinois;
• operate without profit to its members;
• have been in existence in Illinois continuously for a period of five years immediately before applying for a license; and
  • it must have a bona fide membership engaged in carrying out its objectives during that entire five-year period.

License fees must be paid when the application is filed. To apply for a license,

• qualifying organizations must file Form RB-3, Bingo Application for License, either electronically through MyTax Illinois or by mail. You must also complete Form RB-40, List of Bingo Workers, and if renewing, Form RB-32, Expenditure of Funds Earned Through Bingo. Keep these forms in your records and make them available to us when we request them.
  Note: After your have filed Form RB-3 and you need to add or revise a scheduled event, you must complete Form RCG-1-E, Charitable Games, Bingo, or Pull Tabs Events Updates, 30 days before the event. Mail your completed information to the address on the form.
• providers must file Form RB-30, Provider of Premises License Application either electronically through MyTax Illinois or by mail.
• suppliers must file Form RB-2, Application for Bingo Supplier’s License, either electronically through MyTax Illinois or by mail.

• Taxpayers who hold a regular license must file quarterly on Form RB-1, Bingo Quarterly Tax Return. File your return by the 20th day of the month following the end of the reporting period either electronically through MyTax Illinois or by mail.
• Taxpayers who hold a limited license must file Form RB-1-L, Limited Bingo Tax Return. File your return within 20 days following the last day of the event either electronically through MyTax Illinois or by mail.
• Taxpayers who hold a supplier’s license must complete Form RB-41, Bingo Supplier Quarterly Report. Keep it in your records and make it available to us when we request it.

An operator’s license can be purchased for one year for $200. This license entitles an organization to hold one bingo session a week, with a maximum of 25 bingo games per session and a maximum of $2,250 in prizes or merchandise per session. A licensed organization may obtain permits to hold two special events per year of up to five days each. (In Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair counties, and the city of Redbud, the prize limit is $3,250.)

Organizations that would qualify for annual licenses but prefer not to conduct weekly bingo sessions may obtain a limited license at the cost of $50. This license entitles them to conduct a maximum of two bingo events during the year. Each event is limited to five consecutive days. No more than two limited licenses may be issued to any organization in any year.

Persons, firms, or organizations that rent or lease premises (e.g., rooms, halls, or buildings) for bingo games must purchase a provider’s license for $200 for one year or $600 for three years.

Persons, firms, or organizations that sell, lease, or otherwise distribute bingo supplies (e.g., cards or markers) must purchase a supplier’s license for $200 for one year or $600 for three years.

Lookup Gaming Licenses using MyTax Illinois

• Call us at: 1 217 558-7425
• Call TDD: 1 800 544-5304
  
• Fax us at: 1 217 785-6013
• Mail your forms to:
  
  Office of Bingo & Charitable Games 3-215
  Illinois Department of Revenue
  PO Box 19480
  Springfield Illinois 62794-9480