Charitable Pokers Steady Growth in New Hampshire

On October 14th, 2007, while the legislators in Concord talk about legalizing gaming, a night out at Salem's Rockingham Park tells why the game of poker is slowly but surely growing in New Hampshire. On a good night at the racing track, gamblers flocked to the poker room, betting thousands of dollars on Texas Holdem poker and other casino games.

It is permitted because the games are held by charities that have been given permission to hold them as fundraising events. Charitable organizations commented that poker tournaments are good way to raise money but the share of the gambling operators of the revenues are pushing some critics to question whether it is really charitable gambling or not.

In New Hampshire, about three hundred organizations are duly licensed by the pari-mutuel commission to hold poker fames at sixteen licensed venues. By rules, after players received their winnings, the host charities will receive 35% of the revenues. It means that private operators or the companies that run the poker games will receive the biggest part of the profits.

Rep. Michael Marsh, a Democrat from Greenland and is on the committee studying the possibility of legalizing gambling believes that charitable gambling has immensely from small poker events together with fundraising and socializing into activities where the main focus is on the poker games not the charitable organizations.

It is difficult to put an exact figure on the charitable gambling circuit of New Hampshire although the general consensus is that the figure is slowly improving. From 1996 to 2006, when the office of the attorney general managed charitable gambling, charities made about $3 million from the poker games.

On 2006, the pari-mutuel commission took over the managing of non-profit gaming. The main aim of the take over is to increase the oversight of the charitable gaming industry. Commissioner director Paul Kelley said that the handle is at $50 million. Most of the cash are used as the prize cash for the players.

Lynne Snierson, the spokesperson for Rockingham Park commented that charities can usually earn $10,000 per gaming night. Since the racing track started holding poker games almost 13 months ago, the poker games have produced $1 million for thirty non-profit groups who wants to hold poker at the racing track. It is also an advantage to the business establishments that hold the games because they earn rental and concession fees.

Gaming operator Granite State poker has currently experienced good growth. Carl Cincotti said that Granite State poker's payroll has improved to include 150 dealers that operate the poker games six times a week. Operators pay $500 annually for the license.

This kind of improvement convinced lawmakers to set a minimum of revenues for the charities. While the scratch tickets, bingo, horse racing and other gambling games have been an offering of the state for a long time, the legislature has defined the boundary between the slot machines and casino games that do not help the non-profit organizations.

Legislators on both sides of the issue stated that expanding gambling would only bring harm to the state. While non-profit poker games do not produce cash for the state, supporters of the slot machines at Rockingham said that it would contribute millions of dollars to the state treasury. Marsh commented that he would like the non-profits to get more money by increasing the payout from 35% to 51% or putting taxes on the gambling games.

November 04, 2007
John Tucker