Charities Could Clean Up on Slots

There is a law in the state of Massachusetts that allows slots and gambling for charitable organizations, yet very few people take advantage of it. Under the current law, any city of town in Mass. can permit slots which would then pay tax revenue to the state. The net proceeds go to the charity, and those proceeds could be quite substantial.

Some say that if the law were enacted, in the sense that charities started using it, the state would make money off of slots as would the charities. It would also give the state an opportunity to see how slots perform, before they go ahead and legalize them.

With all of the talk of legalizing slots in the state, they have the perfect opportunity to see what sort of crime and corruption would come along with the slots, and see how residents of the state react to them as well. The law does not limit the size of the charity event, so there could be full scale slots and gambling at the events – which would resemble an actual casino.

With approval from the city or town clerk and police chief, charities can hold up to three “gaming” nights a year, and they cannot last more than five hours at a time. They cannot pay out cash prizes in excess of $25 but can award unlimited gift cards that are equal to cash. The slots must be run by a member of the charity as well. Someone could start a business helping charities run and plan the event, have the charities employees staff the event, and do it three times a year per charity.

Back to September 2007 Archive.