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As a poker player, Club, Banquet Hall or  a 501c organization conducting charitable games you should know there is pending legislation that will make some favorable changes to the charitable games act implemented 28 years ago.
Proposed HB 4020 will allow charities to apply for a two year license, streamlining the license process, allowing the hosting organizations more time to plan their dates and locations.

Transfers the regulatory oversight of charitable games to the Illinois Gaming Board, as the Illinois Department of Revenue office staff and field agents have been reduced due to the budget cuts felt by all State agencies. All the tax revenue from charitable games would go into the Illinois Gaming Board fund to oversee and protect the integrity of charitable games.

Clubs, Banquet halls, Race Tracks and OTB’s will be able to rent their locations to licensed charities conducting charity poker games one time per month rather than eight times per year allowing the newer locations that are handicapped accessible to be available to as many as three organizations conducting charity poker fund raisers.

Allows volunteers willing to offer their services up to 12 times per year, rather than the present four times per year. As we all know 10% of the people do 90% of the work in all organizations. Why limit people that want to help organize and operate charity poker fund raisers.

Allows a participant to win up to $500 in cash, up from presently winning $250 in cash.
Bingo, pull tabs, raffles, instant Lottery’s  all offer $500 or more in cash prizes. Why limit charitable games to $250

Taxes the hosting charities five percent of their win revenue before operating expenses are deducted, verses the present three percent of the total gross chip sales, (average tax paid would be $500 per event) saving the hosting charities $400 per event that could be put back into the organizations community services efforts.  With the $200 annual license fee and $500 per event average in taxes, there should be plenty of revenue for licensing and oversight.

Raises the single bet limit on house banked games up to twenty dollars from the present $10 dollars.

These simple changes will significantly increase interest and attendance at your charity poker fund raisers resulting in more revenue and less paperwork for the hosting organizations.

Help guarantee this legislation gets voted on and passed. Attached is all the information you will need to contact your  State representative and ask him / her to vote yes for House Bill 4020 sponsored by representative Lou Lang  D 16th District.

Make sure your representative fully understands that house bill 4020 does not expand gaming,
its main aspect is to transfer regulatory oversight to the Illinois Gaming Board and update rules and regulations that are outdated and do not reflect the popularity of Texas Hold’em Poker as the mainstay of charitable games. Everybody wins in Hold’em poker, as the players are not winning the hosting charities money they are winning money from the other players participating in the games and the hosting charity is simply offering a clean, safe, friendly environment to play poker for a 10% cut out of each pot. Thanks, Jim Kasputis , Rockford Charitable Games Association Inc. Office 815-965-7852 cell 815-914-7529 email jimrockford@msn.com