Lottery games are widely preferred by Canadians as they provide them with the chance to try their luck without the risk of developing unhealthy gambling habits. Nova Scotia wants to make sure that lottery licenses are more accessible than ever, which would happen with the greenlighting of online applications available now. Service Nova Scotia issued a statement notifying all non-profit and charitable organizations that they could apply online for their permit.
Gambling in a regulated manner is what makes the entire experience safe and enjoyable for all parties involved. When there are regulations, players could rely on rights protection in case they need such. This is the reason why lottery permits are crucial for the operation of any ticket lottery that comes with cash prizes for its participants.
Lottery Permit Application Now Possible Online
Service Nova Scotia wants to ensure that all lottery activities in the province are regulated, which is why it launched the online application process. April would be a groundbreaking month in this sense, as it would allow various sports teams, religious organizations, and non-profit organizations to apply for lottery gaming permit online and spare themselves hours on waiting in person.
With the help of the online application process, the organization process and preparation for fundraising events of various kinds will be shortened substantially and the groups would be facilitated. Digitalization of the process is a move that would make for a faster application and event or project launch.
Service Nova Scotia Minister Geoff MacLellan stated that this is Nova Scotia’s way of keeping up with the times. Up until now, the organizations willing to obtain a lottery permit were facing some 10 days of waiting period before they could receive a green light for lottery operation. This would no longer be the case for many of the groups yet to apply for a lottery license. Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel, and Tobacco Division of Service Nova Scotia is responsible for the license issuing.
Nova Scotia Charity Organizations Embrace Idea
Single-draw lottery games organized by non-profit groups are allowed to feature cash prizes reaching up to CA$4,000 and the said permit is no longer valid past the draw date. Once this permit has expired, the organization could apply for a new one. What should be pointed out is that in this case, the groups do not need to submit a Ticket Lottery Report, unlike the next tier of raffle operation.
If the prizes surpass CA$4,000, groups applying for a lottery permit have to issue the mandatory report, as well as to submit a fee of 2.13% of the overall prize value. Ever since 2018, Service Nova Scotia mandated that the limit for cash payouts of a given lottery game would no longer be CA$500, thus attracting more cash to the fundraising events. This eventually boosted the fundraising events across the province held by organizations to the likes of the Northside and Harbourview Hospital Foundation.
As a result of the move, the province also saw a CA$35,000 loss, since the groups no longer had to pay certain tax and licensing fees. The ultimate goal of this move is to minimize the bureaucratic obstacles groups and teams face when it comes to raffle management. Exactly a year from those changes, the online application process launches operation further optimizing it.
