Proponents of legalizing charitable bingo in Arkansas say it would help raise much-needed money for nonprofits such as churches, volunteer fire departments and veterans groups.

But opponents caution it could open the door for less altruistic forms of gambling in the state.

Constitutional Amendment No. 1, one of the last items on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, would lift a long-standing ban on charitable bingo and raffle games in Arkansas.

The proposed amendment would restrict the games to certain nonprofit organizations that have been in the state at least five years, with net receipts going for “charitable, religious or philanthropic purposes.”

If passed, the amendment authorizes the Legislature to adopt laws further regulating charitable gambling in the state.

The change could pave the way for big-dollar gambling companies to come into the state under the auspices of a charity, or for Indian tribes to open commercial bingo parlors.

Bingo games and raffles were a common way for churches and other charitable organizations in the Natural State to raise money before law enforcement agencies started cracking down a couple of years ago, said Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, who co-sponsored Borhauer’s amendment.

“A lot of them had played bingo for years, and people had looked the other way because no one really had a problem with it,” Broadway said. “It didn’t offend anyone.”

Many of those groups operate on limited resources, he said, and have been hit by the loss of the fundraisers.

“They were really able to make a difference for some of these organizations,” Broadway said.

Article 19, Section 14 of the state constitution prohibits lotteries. In a 1997 case, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that bingo halls constitute “gambling houses,” which are illegal under the state law. In a January 2005 opinion, Attorney General Mike Beebe wrote that the only way to make charitable bingo legal would be to change the state constitution.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars was one of many groups that had come to depend on bingo proceeds, said Vic Kerr, Arkansas VFW junior vice commander. The VFW has 118 posts in the state, compared with 167 five years ago.

“We are losing a lot of posts because we don’t have those profits coming in,” Kerr said.

In addition to raising money to pay operational costs, Kerr said his group, VFW Post 2256 of Saline County, gave $ 86, 000 in bingo revenues to other nonprofits, mainly Boys and Girls Clubs and sports leagues, in the last year it had bingo.

The amendment would help numerous nonprofit groups and keep money in the state that currently is going to games of chance in surrounding states, Kerr said.

“The community is hurting more than anyone,” Kerr said.

The 2006 Arkansas Poll, released Thursday by the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, found that 67 percent of the callers who responded to the survey favored the amendment. The poll, conducted annually by the UA Survey Research Center, surveyed 761 adults and has a margin of error of 3. 5 percentage points. Borhauer said Arkansas is one of only a few states that don’t allow charitable bingo, including Utah and Hawaii, which both prohibit any form of gambling. Tennessee has a state lottery, but does not allow bingo.

‘BINGOSINOS’ The primary concern for Page and other opponents of the amendment is the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, which allows Indian tribes to conduct on tribal land any gambling that is permitted in the state where the tribe is located. “The bottom line is we don’t have any problems with local volunteer f ire departments or the Knights of Columbus doing charitable bingo,” said Jerry Cox, executive director of Arkansas Family Council, a conservative public policy group. “We believe [the amendment ] is fatally flawed, and it’s fatally flawed because of Indian gambling.”

The 1988 act puts gambling into three classes and places restrictions on tribes that want to conduct those activities. Casino games such as roulette, craps, baccarat and blackjack are Class III gambling and require an agreement with the state.

Bingo falls under Class II gambling, along with keno, pull-tabs, punchboards and card games in which players play against one another rather than against the house.

As long as Class II games are legal in a state, tribes are free to conduct them on their own land. But because tribal lands are domestic nations, they are not subject to state regulations, said I. Nelson Rose, an international expert on gambling law and a professor at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif. As a result, large for-profit “bingosinos” based around Class II card games and bingo machines that resemble slot machines have sprung up in states like Florida and California. He cited the 130, 000-square-foot Seminole Hard Rock Cafe Casino in Hollywood, Fla., as an example. “The only way a state can stop a tribe from having ‘bingosinos’ is to outlaw charity bingo,” said Rose, who is not affiliated with any groups in Arkansas opposing the amendment.

PROPOSAL PENDING Indian tribes trying to open casinos in Arkansas were not an issue when the amendment was considered by the Legislature, Cox said.

Then on March 27, the United Keetoowah (pronounced kuh-TOO-wuh ) Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the U. S. Department of Interior to place a proposed 10-acre casino site into trust under the 1988 federal act, a necessary step in seeking federal permission to build and operate a casino.

The tribe and Fort Smith developer Bennie Westphal want to construct the casino at the heart of a 72-acre development fronting the Arkansas River in downtown Fort Smith. Plans also include a marina, office space, a retail outlet mall, museums and other amenities.

The amendment would make it easier for tribes such as the Keetoowah to open gambling operations in Arkansas, Cox said.

“Once this is done it triggers the 1988 federal Indian gaming law,” Cox said. “I’m not faulting the Legislature nor am I faulting their intent, but I think we’re going to get a lot more than we bargained for.”

Charitable bingo is big business in other states.

In Texas, charitable gambling collected $ 633. 6 million in gross receipts in 2005, according to the Charitable Bingo Division of the Texas Lottery Commission. The games drew 20. 1 million participants, paid out $ 23. 5 million in taxes to city and county governments and $ 30. 2 million to charities.

In Mississippi, gross charitable bingo receipts totaled $ 112. 3 million in 2005, generating $ 19. 2 million for charities, according to the Mississippi Gaming Commission.

“Bingo is a cash business,” Page said. “I don’t want to be Chicken Little and say the sky is falling because it’s happening in other states. “ This definitely will not be an inevitability, but the possibility is there for large-scale Indian gambling.”

STRONG RESTRICTIONS Borhauer said she worked with lawyers in the legislative research department to draft the amendment to prevent outside groups from coming in. Broadway said legislators would develop even stricter legislation if the amendment passes to further prevent unsavory gambling businesses from moving into the state. “My hope is to draw enough restrictions on it, to keep the bingo halls and, to whatever extent we can, the Indian casinos out,” Broadway said. “I think it’s something we can deal with.”

The Legislature would clear up any question related to Indian gambling after Election Day, he said.

The state attorney general’s office has not looked into the issue and would not until after the election, spokesman Matt DeCample said.

“In general, we’re very careful to say as little as possible before a vote before the people,” DeCample said.

Despite their concerns, opponents said they have not launched major campaigns against the amendment. It’s hard to argue against bingo games at local senior centers and fire halls, said Bill Wheeler, executive director of Families First Foundation, a Christian ministry group that was born out of a 1994 anti-casino effort. “I certainly wouldn’t place it in the same category as casino gambling,” Wheeler said. “It’s just where it could lead to. If it were strictly charitable gambling, no one would be sounding an alarm.”

__________________
"If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?" Joe Namath