Macomb Daily – Tougher regulations are stifling the charitable bingo and gambling events that civic organizations use to raise money, says a Michigan lawmaker.
State Rep. Jeff Farrington, a Utica Republican, wants to update the 40-year-old law governing charitable gaming in Michigan, called the Bingo Act, and to head off arbitrary orders from the Michigan Gaming Control Board he says have begun to strangle a popular fund-raising method for organizations like the Lions, Elks, Kiwanis, and others.
“Let’s figure out how to put better controls on it, both for the charitable groups’ sake and the players’ sake, but closing it down is not the answer,” Farrington said. “I certainly believe in solutions, and this is a problem that seeks a solution, not a shutdown.”
Farrington met with Digital First Mediaon Monday along with others representing the Michigan Charitable Gaming Association.
They say difficulties began when oversight of charitable gaming was transferred in 2012 from the Michigan Lottery Commission to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which oversees the for-profit casinos in the state.
Since then, new regulations from the gaming board have caused permits for fund-raising events like millionaire’s parties to plummet by 70 percent.
Michigan non-profits take in about $20 million from events like charitable gambling, which the MCGA says is about 1.4 percent of the billions taken in annually by the three gambling casinos in Detroit.
Legislation by Farrington seeks to rewrite and update parts of the 40-year-old law that covers bingo and charitable gambling events in Michigan to allow civic organizations to continue to use the events as fundraisers, and to put in place protections for players.
