Volunteer fire companies in Pennsylvania receive needed funds through lottery and bingo, but there’s a nuance. State law prohibits the acceptance of non-cash payments for these modest games of chance. Yes, and in general, gambling in the state is illegal unless specifically authorized. Such a condition is a significant limitation on fundraising opportunities. As a result, lawmakers have proposed a bill that would change the outdated rules. Volunteer fire departments are very important, so removing fundraising obstacles for them is also important.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have been forced to move their gambling entertainment online. There are already quite a few well-known gambling operators on the internet, including Mostbet or 1xBet, with its widest catalog of gambling games. All of this entertainment is available directly from PCs or smartphones. To do this, you just need to go to the site, download the 1xBet app there, and then enter the catalog of games. Such a format of gambling entertainment has been attracting millions of players for many years. And many land-based decide to create their branches on the Internet to also get access to this huge market.
After moving to the internet, operators accordingly accepted cashless payments. However, because of this, they risked losing their authorization – this information came from the state treasurer. The minimum they faced was a fine.
To solve the problem, lawmakers in the state House of Representatives passed a temporary change so that voluntary ones could accept payments through Venmo, PayPal and Cash App for the duration of the health emergency. However, the proposal was never approved by the state Senate. causing confusion.
That said, some nonprofit organizations, including volunteer fire companies, are accepting cashless payments from debit and credit cards despite the ban. For example, there are Facebook groups that promote fire company raffles and there are reports that fire companies are selling raffle tickets on their websites, also accepting payments from debit and credit cards
and that’s understandable. For example, the annual budget of Smithfield Volunteer Fire Company is 300 thousand dollars, and most of it is covered just by the revenues from bingo games. Every year, the company faces rising utility bills, rising fuel costs, and outdated equipment that needs to be replaced. Yet the company is unwilling to take the risk of accepting non-cash payments because it fears the devastating consequences.
The fact is that even if one person reports it, the company will first receive a fine of two thousand dollars, and in case of repeated violation, it can already be deprived of its license. At the same time, the adoption of the amendment, which allows the acceptance of cashless payments, can significantly increase the company’s donations.
Some senators rightly consider the state law outdated and out of step with modern realities. the world is speeding up. becoming cashless, and the law still requires tickets to be printed and lottery drawings to be held live. Meanwhile, many people who would like to buy a ticket and participate in the lottery simply don’t have time to run into a fire station and buy one.
Earlier, news outlets published information that a Pennsylvania state court is set to rule on the gambling terminals. Experts will have to determine if these terminals are slot machines.