(St. Paul, MN) – The Minnesota Senate passed a bill on Friday to provide relief to American Legions, veteran charitable gambling operations, and other congressionally chartered organizations which are suffering from financial pressures under the state’s current economic situation. The main focus is to help these organizations maintain their facilities and continue their charitable work in the future.
Senator Mark Koran (R-North Branch), chief author of the bill, stated, “Charitable gambling organizations provide critical support services, and keeping their doors open will give them the chance to continue their charity support after this emergency passes. There is no reason to kick organizations when they’re down from no fault of their own.”
Many VFW’s and American Legions depend on pull tabs and other legal gambling in restaurants and bars for a large portion of revenue. Under normal circumstances, 30% of their net receipts are required to go to charities. This bill waives that requirement and gives flexibility to spend any remaining revenue or received loans on the organization’s brick and mortar establishment. The funds used would be re-payed at a later date when the emergency has passed.
In the vein of exceptions due to the peacetime emergency, the probationary period has been extended. Organizations currently on probation will not be forced to take negative hits on their ability to get off probation, due to circumstances caused by COVID-19. Similarly, manager training and gambling license deadlines will be extended by 60 days to prevent back-ups in the system and unnecessary strain.
The last portion of the bill pertains to gambling audit information. Currently, when an organization makes $750,000 or more in gross receipts in any calendar year, they will be asked to perform an audit. The Department of Revenue receives the results of the audit, but the Gambling Control Board (GCB) does not. This bill allows the GCB to see the results of the audit, so they can create relevant best practices for the organizations in the future.
“This bill ensures that charitable gambling is not unduly harmed for things out of their control. We need to save the people and businesses involved so that charities are not hurt by a lack of support,” concluded Senator Koran.