LANSING – State Representative Sam Singh (D-East Lansing) stated his support of the decision to withdraw proposed rule changes for charitable gaming, commonly referred to as “millionaire parties,” from a joint legislative committee. Non-profit organizations use the events to raise funds to support their efforts. The proposed rules were overly burdensome and would likely end gaming events for most charities.
“I’m glad to see that these changes have been pulled from consideration. I understand the Gaming Commission’s desire to crack down on the bad actors, but the proposed, heavy-handed rule changes would have punished the charities who have been running their events by the book without incident as well,” said Rep. Singh. “Unfortunately, the governor’s office didn’t listen to the concerns of non-profits and veterans organizations when they proposed their changes. The Snyder administration would benefit from another round of conversations with the people who run these events on a regular basis before recommending any more changes.”
The onerous changes would have capped the number of days non-profit and veterans groups could host gaming events, a number subject to change at the discretion of the Gaming Commissioner. Other changes would have required more staffing at events, a difficult task for small non-profits with limited board members, as well requiring charitable organizations to handle technical issues generally dealt with by third-parties contracted to run gaming events.