A lawsuit by the state of Ohio to try to shut down electronic raffle machines used by Ohio charities will go to trial this summer.
Bringing the suit is Attorney General Mike DeWine. Defendants are the Ohio Veterans and Fraternal Charitable Coalition, which have 2.1 members in 1,700 post and clubs.
The clubs argue that state law permits them. DeWine maintains that they were made illegal in October of 2013. The coalition appealed and obtained a temporary restraining order two years ago.
Currently a gambling expert is reviewing the machines to determine if they are actually gambling.
The Attorney General is in a public relations bind because, as a spokesman said last week, these are well-known charities that do good work for veterans and others.”
In a separate but related development, a panel of the Ohio legislature was recommending closing a “loophole,” created by the fact that Ohio’s casinos don’t pay taxes on “free money” giving as promotions to players.
The state failed to tax about $650 million of such monies last year, said a report from the Joint Committee on Gaming and Wagering.
A spokesman for Penn National Gaming, Bob Tenenbaum, commented: “Any change in the current promotional tax credit would, as we told the committee, negatively impact casino revenues, hinder the growth of the industry in Ohio, and make it more difficult for Ohio gaming facilities to compete with those in neighboring states.”
Twenty-six states have gaming in some form. Nine of them, including Ohio, do not tax promotional spending.
