HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed legislation to update the state's small games of chance law.
House Bill 290 would allow volunteer fire companies, social organizations, and other licensees to increase their weekly prize limit from $25,000 to $35,000.
The legislation also allows selective raffles like Chinese auctions, quarter auctions, race night events, poker runs and vertical wheels as
games of chance.
Social card game tournaments would be permitted at a licensed location up to five times a year, but not more than once a week. Prizes would be limited to $100 per game, or $200 for a Texas
Hold'em tournament.
An organization taking in less than $40,000 a
year in small games revenue would pay $25 for a license, instead of the current $100 fee, and would be
exempt from annual reporting, background checks and separate
bank accounts for proceeds.
Club
licensees, or organizations with a liquor license, would be allowed to
keep the first $40,000 in small games of chance proceeds for their own
use. Proceeds over $40,000 would have to be split between public
interest
purposes and the club's general operating expenses.
An organization operating solely in the public interest, such as a volunteer
fire company, would be able to keep all small games revenue for its own charitable purposes. Currently, 70 percent of proceeds must go toward public activities such as
sponsoring youth sports, refurbishing local parks, and student grants and scholarships.
The measure would also change the amount of time that records must be kept by a club licensee from five years to two years.
The legislation now heads to the Senate for consideration.
