Nov 14, 2013 3 min read

Some state representatives fear a Pennsylvania House bill that purportedly aims to ease regulations on small games of chance for local nonprofits will have adverse effects on veterans and fraternal organizations.

House Bill 1098 passed 102-96 in the House Wednesday, and a vote is expected next week in the Senate. The bill would legalize small games of chance, such as Chinese auctions and 50/50 raffles, in as many as 13,000 restaurants and taverns.

The bill’s proponents say the legalization would eliminate cumbersome paperwork that groups such as volunteer fire departments and churches are required to file, but representatives who voted “no” on the bill say it will have unintended consequences.

State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, said the expansion of small games of chance will deprive smaller organizations like American Legion posts and volunteer fire departments because “now you can have the bar next door” offering similar lottery games.

“(The state Senate) took something that was a unique way for fire departments, veterans’ organizations and small, private clubs to help keep their doors open, and they’ve taken that away because they’ve let everybody have the ability to do the same thing,” White said. “It’s mind-numbing to me that in the attempt to help them, we actually hurt them even more.”

State Rep. Pete Daley, D-California, and Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, both said they are not opposed to expanding small games of chance in restaurants and bars, but they believe it will backfire on the nonprofit organizations that need help, according to a news release.

“I could not in good conscience support a measure that has the potential to harm the countless veterans’ and fraternal groups that have served our communities so well and for many years,” Snyder said in the news release.

Both representatives said the bill would enable Governor Tom Corbett to divert gambling revenue from the General Fund to the Lottery Fund if the expanded gambling harms lottery revenue.

“The governor still remains committed to selling our Pennsylvania Lottery’s management to a foreign firm,” Daley said, “and handing the governor the reins to the survival of the lottery and the programs it supports seemed a bad gamble.”

However, both lawmakers said the bill would ease some of the reporting requirements placed on clubs, veterans’ groups, fire companies and charities.