Jamie Duffy The Journal Gazette
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The Indiana Gaming Commission on Friday suspended gaming licenses at the Fraternal Order of Eagles 3512 Charity Gaming Nights on West Washington Center Road.
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NextCharity gaming events grossed about $442 million statewide in 2016, with $373 million of that amount consumed by operating expenses, including prizes. While the $69 million in proceeds helps support countless Indiana churches, charities and nonprofit organizations, the millions recorded as expenses leave plenty of room for foul play.
The Indiana Gaming Commission is charged with oversight of charity gaming. Friday, the commission and Indiana State Police raided Fraternal Order of Eagles 3512 and shut down the games at the organization's West Washington Center Road site, which reported revenue of $4.6 million in the budget year ending July 30. Of that amount, just $17,000 went to charities other than the Eagles.
The gaming commission has suspended the organization's gaming license, alleging violations of state laws regarding gambling, security and allowable expenses for the license holder. An ongoing criminal investigation is under way, according to the state gaming commission's superintendent of law enforcement, with the Allen County Prosecutor's Office as a partner.
The Eagles' operation, at the former off-track betting parlor near Washington Center and Lima roads, offered poker tournaments, blackjack, roulette and craps at 150 gaming events in the fiscal year 2017, according to its annual financial report, with an average attendance of 85 people.
The crackdown is a reassuring sign of vigilance by state and local law enforcement, but also raises questions we've asked before – does charity gaming require tighter regulation?
Charity gambling events run the gamut from church raffles to bingo operations grossing seven figures a year. They allow some fraternal organizations to keep their doors open and other organizations to support youth sports and community projects. But the money involved also exposes groups to misdeeds. Five people were arrested in 2011 in Fort Wayne, accused of skimming about $1 million from bingo games at American Legion Post 330. A casino operated by White's School of the Arts Community Development Programs was raided in 2009, with five arrests. The law was changed to restrict charity casino licenses to veterans' groups and fraternal organizations.
In the first six months of this year, the state issued 16 disciplinary actions against charity gaming operations, including a Moose lodge in Indianapolis operating without a license.
Hoosier voters have shown an ever-growing appetite for gambling since they supported a state lottery in 1988. But they also expect the state to provide reasonable regulations. It might be time to re-examine the laws authorizing charity gaming. Let's ensure there's a balance between the highly regulated and taxed operations at the lottery, casinos, racetracks and betting parlors and organizations that, in some cases, are less charitable than Hoosiers might like or might expect.
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Eagles Charity Casino Fort Wayne
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