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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
06/02/2024 02:39 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?SPick=20230&chamber=H&cosponId=41261
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House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: August 9, 2023 12:32 PM
From: Representative Robert E. Merski and Rep. Marci Mustello
To: All House members
Subject: Small Game of Chance Updates
 
Representative Mustello and I plan to introduce legislation to help charitable organizations in the Commonwealth by updating the Local Small Games of Chance Act.  It has been 10 years since Pennsylvania’s small games of chance rules have been updated. 
Charitable organizations such as Volunteer and Local Fire Departments, Veterans of Foreign War Posts, American Legion Posts, Moose, Elk, and Eagle Clubs, School Booster Clubs, Churches, Temples and Senior Citizen Organizations are the backbone of our communities.  These organizations provide assistance to veterans, support local charities, fund local community projects, award youth scholarships and support our schools and youth athletics, among many other things.  Unfortunately, many of these charitable organizations are struggling financially and they rely on small games of chance to meet the overhead needs of the aging facilities that house the clubs and to help attract new members and keep existing ones.  
Updating these games will provide licensed charitable organizations with new ways to use paper pull tab tickets to keep their operating expenses down, attract members, and raise additional funds to be used for their charitable purposes.
Specifically, our bill would:
  • Allow new styles of paper pull tab games, such as event games, subset pull-tab games, pick-board games and progressive pull-tab games, to be played in the local clubs.
  • Allow paper event games that can be played with the use of a bingo ball selection device.
  • Eliminate the burdensome restriction on weekly prize limits to allow more money to go to charity.
  • Eliminate the 4000-ticket limit in pull tab games and allow the purchaser of the last ticket in a pull tab game to be awarded a cash prize.
The small changes proposed by this bill will have a big impact on the ability of charitable organizations to thrive and continue to positively impact our communities.   This legislation is our opportunity to give back to the people in our community who have been there and provide so much for us.  We hope you will join us in co-sponsoring these much-needed changes.