Texas Requires a TDLR License to Conduct Charitable Bingo

The Bingo Enabling Act, Occupations Code Chapter 2001, lets a licensed authorized organization run bingo to fund its own charitable work, not for private profit. Section 2001.101 opens licensing to religious societies, medical-research nonprofits, fraternal organizations, veterans organizations, volunteer fire departments, and volunteer EMS providers, each of which (other than the medical-research nonprofit) must have operated in Texas for at least three years. Applicants file an application disclosing officers, the bingo chairperson responsible for compliance, IRS Form 990s, and information for criminal-background checks under Section 2001.102.

Once licensed, an organization may not stack more than $5,000 in aggregate prizes on a single bingo occasion, apart from pull-tab games or games awarding $50 or less per prize, and door prizes are capped at $250 under Section 2001.420. A separate $750 single-game cap that used to sit in the same section was repealed effective September 1, 2023, by SB 643. All net proceeds must go to the organization's own charitable purposes as defined by its federal tax exemption, and Section 2001.456 bars using bingo money to support or oppose a candidate, a ballot measure, or legislation. Receipts must be deposited within three business days in a dedicated bingo account at a Texas financial institution, and retained operating capital is capped at $100,000 absent a commission waiver.

Regulatory authority sits with the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation and its department, TDLR. The Texas Lottery Commission's charitable bingo program, including its licenses and staff, transferred to TDLR on September 1, 2025, under SB 3070. A separate law, the Charitable Raffle Enabling Act (Occupations Code Chapter 2002), lets qualified nonprofits run raffles with no license at all, making bingo the stricter of Texas's two charitable-gaming tracks.

Conducting bingo without a license is a third-degree felony under Section 2001.551, the same grade that applies to rigging a prize drawing under Section 2001.552. Recordkeeping violations, false statements on a license application, or diverting proceeds range from a Class C to a Class A misdemeanor and can trigger license revocation under Section 2001.554. The commission may separately assess an administrative penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, with each day of a continuing violation counted separately.