HARRISBURG (TNS) — Fundraising through raffles and small games of chance for nonprofit organizations would become a little easier under legislation that passed the state Senate on Monday.
The bill, which approved by a 47-1 vote, modernizes the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act in several ways.
It would allow licensed and registered organizations to use credit card, debit card and mobile or online payment services, such as Paypal or Venmo to collect payment for raffle tickets.
The bill would not allow for online play or live drawings.
Individuals buying a raffle ticket are required to be at least 18 years of age, according to the legislation.
Currently, organizations are only allowed to accept cash or check for payment.
“Younger donors don’t even know what a checkbook is,” Anne Gingerich, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations, told PennLive earlier this year. “They don’t write checks or have cash. So what it does is it opens the donor pool to a larger group of donors.”
The bill, co-sponsored by Allegheny County Sens. Devlin Robinson, a Republican, and Wayne Fontana, a Democrat, now goes to the House for consideration.
Robinson said in his floor remarks the intent of the bill is to help licensed nonprofits such as fire companies, veterans organizations and youth sports leagues raise money to support their organizations that continue to struggle with fundraising in the wake of the pandemic.
“People just aren’t attending those nonprofit fundraisers nearly as often which is sometimes something those organizations truly rely on to serve their communities,” Robinson said. “By allowing payments to be accepted electronically through apps such as Venmo or PayPal, folks will be able to participate in supporting these nonprofits much easier.”
He said 25 other states already allow the changes that are included in the bill.
The sole negative vote was cast by Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson County. Dush did not respond to a request for comment on Monday afternoon.
Similar bills, as well as those that would raise the prize limits on small games of chance have been have been introduced. Bills related to gambling sitting in the House’s hopper have idled there as the chamber’s Gaming Oversight Committee has not met in this two-year legislative session that ends Nov. 30.
