The organisers inform everyone in the community that there's going to be a Cow Patty Bingo contest and offer you tickets for five dollars a person. When someone buys a ticket, that ticket also entitles them to a seat in the bleachers near the field so they can watch the cow. Each ticket has a number on it that coincides with the numbered area in the field.

You rope off the area in which you will place the cow. No one is allowed to cross the rope and bug the cow, as that immediately disqualifies that player.

Friendly games between farmhands usually result in the winner receiving the entire pot of cash. However, Cow Patty Bingo is fast becoming popular with churches, hunting clubs, and other rural organizations, as a means of fundraising. If you bet on one of these fundraisers and win, you are very likely to receive only a percentage of the overall profits. On rare occasions, the winner may be given the pile of faeces in substitution of the cash.