A basket raffle was held to help raise money for the Cornelius family in 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle

Rob McGraw

The state Senate passed a pair of bills Monday, Oct. 5, to assist nonprofits and local organizations by amending Pennsylvania’s Small Games of Chance law to increase the amount of money those groups can earn from games of chance.

Senate Bill 995 aims to raise the weekly maximum amount nonprofit organizations can distribute through small games of chance from $35,000 to $60,000. The current cap of $35,000 has been in place since 2013.

Senate Bill 465 would allow nonprofit organizations to keep half all proceeds from small games of chance — up from the current maximum of 40%. The remaining 50% would be allocated for charitable contributions.

The Small Games of Chance law allows licensed organizations to offer specific types of games of chance to raise funds for operations. Some of the games permitted by the act are raffles, pull-tab games and 50/50 drawings. In Butler County, volunteer fire departments make frequent use of raffles and other small games of chance as a fundraising tool.

Sens. Elder Vogel, R-47th, and Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, co-sponsored Senate Bill 995 along with five other senators, all Republicans.

“I have heard from numerous organizations that have had to shut down their small games of chance for a few days every week because they are hitting the weekly cap,” wrote the bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Chris Gebhard, R-48th, in a memo when he proposed the bill in February 2025. “The weekly prize limit has been set at $35,000 since 2013. With the ever-changing gaming landscape in Pennsylvania coupled with increasing inflation, the weekly prize limit needs to be raised to $60,000 for our local club licensees.”

“Our local organizations, especially fire companies, VFWs and American Legions, depend on small games of chance to keep their lights on and serve our communities,” Vogel said in a news release. “Raising the prize cap and allowing them to retain more of their proceeds gives these groups the flexibility they need to continue to host critical fundraising opportunities. I was happy to support both of these bills.”

Both bills were passed by a unanimous 49-0 vote of the Senate and have since been referred to the state House’s Gaming Oversight Committee for consideration.

Small games of chance are distinct from skill games machines. Those machines face an incoming ban under state law beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13.