House lawmakers pass bills to make small games of chance more lucrative
HARRISBURG – Who said playing bingo or the raffle were just for fun? Worried that volunteer fire departments, churches, and non-profits weren’t reaping enough fundraising dollars, House lawmakers passed two bills Monday to make small games of chance more lucrative to both players and organizations in Pennsylvania.
One would double the maximum cash value allowed on a single game to $1,000 and permit the non-profit organizations running the games to bump their weekly payouts from $5,000 to $20,000.
The other would open bingo to jackpot games for the first time, allowing an accumulation of prizes of up to $2,000 for one winning, so long as the day ends with the disbursement of no more than $8,000.
The bills also lifted all advertising restrictions on the games.
Proponents said dollars are tight for many social service organizations and they needed larger winnings to make the games more popular – and legal.
“Under current limits, every Friday night football game that goes in excess of $500 is technically breaking the law,” said Clearfield County Democrat, Rep. Dan Surra. “If we have a law that makes good groups and citizens break the law on a regular basis, we need to fix that law.”
Some worried that Pennsylvania charities would have trouble competing against casinos once they come on line, and are losing players across state borders.
“In western Pennsylvania, they are crossing the line and going to West Virginia because their non-profits are able to offer a bigger prize,” said Beaver County Democrat, Rep. Christopher Sainato. “Give your local fire departments and social service organizations a chance to compete.”
However, Bucks County Rep. Paul Clymer said the games themselves were a form of gambling that should not be encouraged.
“As you increase the profits or the total amount of a prize – and we’ve seen that with the Super Bowl – we see that more and more people will come and gamble to get that huge prize,” he said. “Do the ends justify the means? That’s something we have to look at.”
Upon Clymer’s objections, the House struck down an amendment that would have permitted organizations to run Texas Holdem tournaments, which have become popular among Poker players.
The two bills don’t make everything easier for organizations. They would have tougher financial reporting requirements, would have to pay more to renew licenses, and applicants would need to submit to background checks.
A representative from each organization would also have to complete eight hours of training on the reporting requirements in order to receive a license. Rep. Kate Harper, a Montgomery County Republican, said organizations would sink under the paperwork.
“I think it means the amateur bingo operators are going to get out of the business and leave it to someone else,” she said before voting ‘no’. “None of my firefighters have told me they want to go to school for bingo training.”
The bills now head to the Senate.
Alison Hawkes can be reached at 717-705-6330 or ahawkes@calkins-media.com