What We Offer

Qualifying For a Permit

The very first thing a nonprofit needs to do is to determine if they qualify for a permit from the Department of Justice in California. A permit is required to host a poker fundraiser. We recommend that our clients apply for their permit at least 45 days prior to the event. The requirements include:
 
 * A nonprofit must have a 501c3 designation in the state of California for three years or longer.
* The nonprofit must be current on their charitable trust filings.
* The nonprofit may conduct one charity poker fundraiser per year.
* Nonprofits with multiple chapters may register for a permit under each chapter individually.
* The venue for the event may conduct only four poker fundraisers per year.
* The nonprofit must pay a $100 permit fee to the State of California.

A member of our team can walk you through the qualification process and send you a guide with links. We take the permit process seriously and all nonprofits should as well. Obtaining a permit is a requirement to work with us and you will need to display it at your event. More information can be found on the Attorney Generals website http://oag.ca.gov/gambling/charitable

Games played with dice are not authorized for play by Penal Code section 337j nor approved by the Department of Justice as controlled games. Games such as roulette, twenty-one, banking or percentage games, and dice games, when offered for play for anything of value, are prohibited by Penal Code section 330 and 330b. These games are prohibited as they are not “controlled games,” and therefore cannot lawfully be offered at nonprofit fundraising events. Even if not played for anything of value, games such as roulette, twenty-one, banking or percentage games, and dice games are not “controlled games” within the meaning of the nonprofit organization controlled games fundraiser statute (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 19885-19887). Nonprofit organizations are therefore precluded from playing those games at fundraisers because they cannot be approved as “controlled games.” The Bureau will not register a nonprofit fundraiser or a supplier that offers prohibited games or gambling-themed games outside of the scope of the nonprofit organization controlled games fundraiser statute.



​​