Michigan Charity Poker Rooms in Danger of Being Shut Down
The poker room of Tripper’s, a sports bar in Lansing, hosts several charity Texas Hold’em games at its 11 tables. There are forty such poker rooms all over Michigan, where funds are raised for charitable causes. In other words, Michigan’s charity gaming industry is booming.
But this was not always the case. In 2004, chips worth $8 million were sold, but in 2011, this number rose to $197 million. The sale of chips fell to $184 million in 2012, but these charity games have helped raise as much as $103 million for charitable organizations during the last nine years, with charity poker contributing $86 million. Players of charity games have won over $680 million all these years.
Today, Michigan’s charity gaming industry is under threat as the state’s Gaming Control Board is considering certain proposed changes in regulations. If approved, these new rules could see the end of charity poker rooms. According to the officials, permanent charity poker rooms are hosts of criminal activities and violate existing gambling laws.
Needless to say, operators of charity poker rooms, players, croupiers, as well as charitable organizations are against these proposed changes. They argue that changes in rules will not only prevent them from raising funds for charity, but will also result in loss of jobs for poker room workers. The Michigan Charitable Gaming Association urges the board to consider laws that will set penalties for violating laws and ensure transparency and accountability in poker room operations instead of shutting down the poker rooms.
Jessica Stank of the Lakewood Youth Football Board commented: “I don’t know how we’re going to find another opportunity that’s going to match the money we’re able to bring in from charity poker.”
Opponents of the proposed charity gaming rules criticize Rick Kalm, executive director of the gaming control board, stating that he is bowing to pressure from the casino companies of Michigan, which are unable to handle competition from the charity poker rooms. Begging to differ, Kalm says that he is not associated with the casinos in any way. He also points out that casinos make their profits from slots, not poker games. Representatives of the state’s casinos, however, are in favor of changing regulations for charity poker rooms.
According to Kalm, the board is only trying to control the state’s charity gaming industry, which has now become worth several millions and is fraught with crimes. Charity poker rooms have witnessed cases such as four armed robberies, three offenses related to weapons, 47 assaults, 11 fraud cases, and 72 disorderly persons from Jan 2010 to March 2013. He said: “We’re trying to put rules in place that protect the charities’ ability to make money, keep this thing alive, but recognize that the law was never designed for poker room casinos.”
Michigan’s 40 charity poker rooms host several charity poker games every day besides offering liquor and food. Originally, the state had 65 such rooms, but the state has ordered 14 of them to stop hosting charity games while the others have shut down on their own.
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