Charitable Gaming in South Carolina: Bingo and Raffle Compliance for Nonprofits

Charitable gaming can be a valuable fundraising tool, but South Carolina treats it as a regulated activity rather than a casual event. The state draws a clear line between bingo and nonprofit raffles, and each activity has its own licensing, registration, reporting, and operating rules.

For nonprofits, the compliance question starts before the first ticket is sold. The organization must be properly formed, recognized as a qualified nonprofit, and registered with the correct state agency. From there, the rules depend on whether the fundraising plan involves bingo, raffles, or both.

What counts as charitable gaming in South Carolina?

In South Carolina, the most common charitable gaming activities are:

• Bingo, which is regulated by the South Carolina Department of Revenue.
• Nonprofit raffles, which are regulated by the South Carolina Secretary of State’s Division of Public Charities.

These are separate legal regimes. A nonprofit that wants to run bingo must satisfy the bingo licensing rules. A nonprofit that wants to conduct a raffle must satisfy the raffle registration rules. Some organizations may do both, but each activity must be handled under the correct agency and the correct filings.

Who can conduct charitable gaming?

South Carolina limits authorized charitable gaming to qualified nonprofit organizations. For bingo, the organization must be a nonprofit registered with the Secretary of State, have the relevant IRS tax-exempt status, and have charitable activity for at least two years before applying.

For raffles, the organization must be a qualified nonprofit organization under the state raffle statute and, unless it qualifies for an exemption, must be registered with the Secretary of State’s Division of Public Charities.

The practical takeaway is simple: charitable gaming begins with entity readiness. If the organization is not properly formed, registered, and documented, it should not move into gaming activity yet.

South Carolina bingo rules

South Carolina allows nonprofit charitable organizations to operate bingo games if they are licensed by the Department of Revenue. The state also recognizes several bingo license classes, with Class B and Class C being the most common.

Common license classes

• Class B is the most common licensed format for nonprofits. It has a license fee, allows play up to five days per week, requires a promoter, and carries a higher maximum payout per session than Class C.
• Class C is also common. It has no license fee, may be played up to seven days per week, does not require a promoter, and is limited to a lower payout per game with limited jackpot games.
• Class C hard cards are a special version of Class C with stricter requirements. The organization must be volunteer-run, own the equipment, own the building or lease it directly from the owner, and use the proceeds only for permitted expenses and charitable purposes.
• Other license types exist for limited, temporary, or specialized bingo operations, including fair-based play.

The state also requires bingo operations to stay inside the bounds of the license. The license holder must display the applicable license at the bingo location, and the organization cannot treat bingo as a general-purpose revenue stream without the required controls.

Financial controls matter

South Carolina expects nonprofit bingo operations to be segregated from the organization’s other finances. In practice, that means:

• Maintaining a designated bingo account separate from other accounts.
• Depositing bingo proceeds by the end of the next business day after each day bingo is held.
• Paying bingo-related expenses from the bingo account.
• Keeping clear records showing how proceeds are collected, held, and spent.

These rules are designed to create a clean audit trail. They also reduce the risk that charitable funds are mixed with unrelated organizational money.

Reporting and refunds

Licensed bingo operators must file a quarterly Bingo Financial Report, even if no games were conducted during the quarter. South Carolina also provides a monthly refund system for nonprofit bingo operations, with special timing rules for certain hard card operations.

Those filing obligations are not optional. A nonprofit that runs bingo should plan its bookkeeping so the report can be prepared on time, every quarter, without reconstructing records at the last minute.

Promoters and vendors

Some bingo operations use a promoter to help manage the game. In South Carolina, a promoter may contract with up to five nonprofit organizations, but the promoter and the nonprofit can be jointly liable for taxes and fines tied to the game.

Promoters must also meet state licensing requirements. They need to be registered as professional solicitors with the Secretary of State, satisfy the state residency history requirement, maintain a bond, and renew their license annually.

That makes due diligence essential. A nonprofit should never assume a promoter is simply a vendor. In South Carolina, the promoter relationship is a regulated compliance relationship.

South Carolina raffle rules

Raffles are governed by the Nonprofit Raffles for Charitable Purposes Act. Only qualified nonprofit organizations are eligible to conduct raffles.

Unless an organization qualifies for an exemption, it must register with the Secretary of State’s Division of Public Charities and file an annual raffle registration form and an annual raffle financial report.

Exempt and nonexempt raffles

South Carolina distinguishes between exempt raffles and nonexempt raffles.

Exempt raffles generally include:

• Raffles with donated noncash prizes valued at $950 or less for the event.
• Fifty-fifty raffles with total proceeds of $950 or less.

For exempt fifty-fifty raffles, participation is limited to members of the nonprofit organization and their guests.

Nonexempt raffles are broader, but they come with more formal reporting and operational limits. For example:

• A nonprofit may conduct only four nonexempt raffles per year.
• Each individual prize must be valued at $80,000 or less.
• The total value of prizes offered at a single raffle event cannot exceed $300,000.

If an organization conducts both exempt and nonexempt raffles, only the nonexempt raffles must be included in the annual raffle financial report.

Registration and reporting

For most nonprofits, the raffle compliance workflow includes:

• Filing the annual raffle registration form.
• Filing the annual raffle financial report.
• Keeping proof that the organization remains qualified to conduct raffles.
• Preserving records showing how raffle receipts were used for charitable purposes.

South Carolina also expects timely filings. If a nonprofit misses required documents or submits them late, the state can assess administrative fines and pursue criminal prosecution in serious cases.

Advertising and operating restrictions

South Carolina also regulates how raffles are advertised and operated. A raffle advertisement must identify the nonprofit sponsoring the event and the charitable purpose for the proceeds. The law also places limits on how a nonprofit’s name may be used and forbids arrangements that effectively outsource the raffle operation to another person.

In other words, a nonprofit cannot simply lend its brand to a third party and let someone else run the event behind the scenes. The organization must remain the actual charitable sponsor and operator within the legal framework.

Practical compliance checklist for nonprofits

Before launching a charitable gaming program in South Carolina, a nonprofit should work through a simple checklist:

1. Confirm that the organization is properly formed and qualifies as a nonprofit.
2. Verify the organization’s state charity registration status.
3. Decide whether the activity will be bingo, a raffle, or both.
4. Identify the correct licensing or registration path for that activity.
5. Set up separate bank accounts and bookkeeping for gaming proceeds.
6. Build a filing calendar for annual, quarterly, or other recurring reports.
7. Review all vendor and promoter agreements before signing.
8. Keep copies of licenses, registrations, reports, and supporting records in one place.

That checklist may look basic, but it prevents the most common compliance failures: missing filings, poor segregation of funds, and operating under the wrong assumption about what the state actually allows.

Where Zenind fits

If your nonprofit is still in the formation stage, Zenind can help you organize the entity side of the process before you move into gaming compliance. That matters because charitable gaming rules usually assume the organization already exists, has the right legal structure, and can maintain clean records from day one.

Zenind is a U.S. company formation service, so the strongest use case is getting the nonprofit structure in place, keeping the filing workflow organized, and making sure the organization is ready for the state-level compliance steps that come next.

The bottom line

Charitable gaming can support a nonprofit’s mission, but only if the organization treats compliance as part of the fundraising plan. In South Carolina, bingo and raffle activities are tightly regulated, and the rules differ by game type.

The safest approach is to confirm eligibility first, file with the correct agency, keep funds segregated, and maintain accurate records from the start. For a nonprofit that wants to raise money responsibly, that discipline is not optional. It is the foundation of a sustainable charitable gaming program.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.