Michigan’s Charity Poker Industry Opposes Proposed Regulations
Many are not happy about Michigan’s charity poker regulations. The Michigan Gaming Control Board recently announced a proposal limiting charity poker events to four nights per week, and some feel that this can have an adverse effect on charity poker rooms, which were previously running charity poker games throughout the week.
The board has been considering the pros and cons of several ways to regulate “millionaire parties, which enable nonprofit organizations to raise funds by running casino games such as blackjack and poker. The board wanted to create a set of strict rules to eliminate cases of crime and gaming law violation at charity poker venues. According to certain officials, the existing laws are incapable of dealing with the state’s charity poker industry, which has now grown into multi-million dollar monster.
Players, poker room operators, nonprofit organizations, as well as dealers opposed the proposed regulations on ground that they can put an end to the charity poker business, result in loss of jobs, and rob charities of their fundraising opportunities. Representative Jeff Farrington also opposed the existing proposals and introduced a bill that will regulate charity poker rooms effectively.
The board held several meetings with various stakeholders and modified its proposed regulations, after which it announced that it has come to a compromise with Farrington, who has agreed to drop his bill.
Michigan Gaming Board Executive Director Rick Kalm said: “We really wanted to make sure we could still allow charities to do the fundraising, but we found quite a bit of fraud and charities that were taken advantage of, and charities that didn’t want to take ownership of it.”
Farrington said that limits on rental fees and on the number of days charity poker rooms can be allowed to operate can force charity poker rooms to shut down. He said: “I understand the large poker rooms did not come away with what they needed to continue on, but the end goal for me … to make sure the charities had a revenue source going forward.” Currently, there is no limit to the number of charity poker games that can be held, but the new rules will restrict charity poker events to 208 days per year or four nights per week. Kalm says that charity poker rooms may be restricted to running only one charity poker event per day, instead of several.
Unhappy about these developments, Mike Schuchaskie, who hosts charity poker events, said: “Is the state going to cut days that a party store could operate, or a gas station? I just don’t understand why they would want to cut the number of days that any business could operate.”
If the new rules are implemented, 3 representatives from a nonprofit organization will be required to be present at the game. The board says that a moratorium on charity poker rooms shifting locations, which has been in effect from 2011, will be lifted. The board plans to finalize its proposal and place it before a joint legislative committee by the end of this month.
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