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Bill would change small games of chance, aid groups
Source:
Cranberry Eagle
Written by:
Jared Stonesifer
Published:
February 1, 2012
Fire departments, veterans organizations and other nonprofit groups could get a fundraising boost under a new bill that will reform laws regulating prize money for small games of chance.
More than 150 organizations in Butler County have licenses for small games of chance and stand to benefit from the bill.
Small games of chance such as raffles, card games and bingo are used by organizations to raise funds for operating budgets or for charitable projects.
The new bill, which last week was sent from the House to Gov. Tom Corbett’s desk for his signature, would increase limits for prize payouts from $500 to $1,000 for daily drawings, from $5,000 to $25,000 for weekly drawings and from $5,000 to $10,000 for raffles per calendar month.
Also under the bill, at least 70 percent of proceeds earned from small games of chance would have to be for public interest purposes while the remaining 30 percent could be for capital projects or operating costs for a certain organization.
The bill also overhauls the conditions regulating whether licenses for small games of chance are suspended, revoked or not renewed for certain organizations.
Gov. Corbett is expected to sign it.
Under the bill, prize limits for these small games of chance will be revised for the first time since 1988.
Mary Hess, who is on the board for Zelienople’s Community Park Association, said she’s happy about the changes to fundraising amounts but added that the bill comes with more stringent rules and procedures.
Hess said the new law will require any group with these game licenses to file a report annually with the state treasurer, a report that details monies earned from the games and how it was spent.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, Hess added, because such attention to detail could root out some organizations that are careless with the money earned or spent.
Overall, she said, the bill is something that can only help fundraising efforts for nonprofit groups like hers.
“We’re very excited about this bill and the increased opportunity for the money it can raise for small organizations like ours,” she said. “It might have a huge impact on some groups.”
Hess said the group had a gun raffle last year and this year will do a Super Bowl pool to raise funds.
John Rogers, the fundraising chairman for the Evans City Lions Club and president of the EDCO Park Authority, said the new bill is great but added that he’s not sure it will have a dramatic effect on his groups’ operations.
That’s because both organizations are relatively small, although he added that any bill that aids fundraising efforts is something to be praised.
“The current prize limits (on small games of chance) never really come into play with what I do, but I feel that with larger organizations it could be a big help,” he said. “I don’t see anything negative with this bill at all.”
Rogers said his groups usually do an annual raffle for Pittsburgh Penguins tickets as well as 50/50 raffles at other events and a gun raffle.
State Rep. Sheryl M. Delozier, R-Cumberland County, who was the main sponsor of the bill, said in a release that it will have long-ranging effects not only on the groups that use small games of chance, but also the state government that helps fund them.
“The upcoming budget season is going to be a tough one,” she said. “Allowing for increased fundraising will help our nonprofits to fill some of the gaps in funding from government and stay afloat during hard economic times.
“This bill is the support system our communities need.”
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