Charitable Games Tax & License Fees

• Statutory - 230 ILCS 30/1 to 30/15
• Regulations - Part 435

The tax is imposed on the net proceeds of charitable games. Annual license fees are imposed on suppliers and providers of such games. Operators must pay a license fee every two years.

Fourteen games are permitted: bang, beat the dealer, big six, blackjack, chuck-a-luck, craps, five-card stud poker, gin rummy, hold-em poker, keno, merchandise wheel, poker, pull tabs, and roulette. Profits from the games must be used to support the organization’s goals, such as charitable work or education. A licensed organization may hold up to four charitable game events per year.

For a group to be eligible to conduct charitable games, it must

• be a religious, charitable, educational, veterans’, fraternal, or labor organization;
• have been in existence in Illinois for at least five years (may be reduced to two years in certain circumstances);
• operate without profit to its members; and
• already be exempt from federal income taxation under Internal Revenue Code, Section 501(c)(3), (4), (5), (8), (10), or (19).

Organizations eligible to hold charitable games must submit an application at least 30 days before the event. License fees must be paid when the application is filed. To apply for a license,

• qualifying organizations must file Form RCG-1, Charitable Games Application for License, either electronically through MyTax.illinois.gov or by mail. You must also complete Forms RCG-2, List of Charitable Games Workers, and RCG-10, Diagram of Charitable Games Event Playing Area. If renewing, complete Form RCG-25, Expenditure of Funds Earned Through Charitable Games. Keep these forms in your records and make them available to us when we request them. After you have filed Form RCG-1 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.
• suppliers must file Form RCG-7, Application for Charitable Games Supplier’s License, either electronically through MyTax.illinois.gov or by mail.
• providers must file Form RB-30, Provider of Premises License Application, either electronically through MyTax.illinois.gov or by mail.

When applying for the equipment ownership permit, organizations must file Form RCG-9, Application or Annual Report for Charitable Games Equipment Ownership Permit, either electronically through MyTax.illinois.gov or by mail.

Organizations must complete a report each year for the charitable games equipment they own on Form RCG-9. Keep the report in your records and make it available to us when we request it.

• You must file a separate return, Form RCG-18, Charitable Games Tax Return, for each event. File your return within 30 days of the event either electronically through MyTax.illinois.gov or by mail.
• Complete but do not submit Form RCG-32, Charitable Games Event Workers Attendance List, with Form RCG-18. Keep it in your records and make it available to us when we request it.

One annual application is good for four events. However, if all four dates are not requested at application time, an organization may amend or add dates by requesting an amendment in writing 30 days prior to an event.

• Organizations conducting charitable games are required to pay a $400 license fee. Licenses are valid for two years.
• Suppliers of gaming equipment are required to purchase an annual license for $500 or $1,500 for three years.
• An annual “provider’s fee” of $50 or $150 for three years is imposed on anyone who rents space to be used for a charitable game.
  

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