A year after a statewide smoking ban went into effect, charitable gambling operations in Minnesota aren’t feeling so lucky.
“The wonderful world of gambling unfortunately is not so wonderful right now,” said King Wilson, executive director of the Allied Charities of Minnesota.
“We’ve lost 30 percent of our charitable gambling organizations, and the ones that remain are basically down 20-25 percent.”
Wilson said the industry once had as many as 1,800 groups operating in the state, but that has fallen to barely 1,300 today, and several more are terminating their licenses every month.
He talked to about a dozen representatives of charitable gaming operations in Detroit Lakes Monday.
“It’s been a tsunami of bad news,” said Wilson. Gaming receipts so far in 2008 are down about 8 percent over last year, due to a variety of factors — including a smoking ban in bars and restaurants, higher gasoline prices and a weaker economy.
For the complete story, please see Nathan Bowe, Charitable gaming industry down on its luck - wants lower state taxes
, Park Rapids Enterprise.com, October 3, 2008.
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