Groups: Pull-tab rules are confusing

A forum on the changes will be at 6 p.m. Monday at the MetroPlex in Liberty.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Representatives of local fraternal and veterans groups say they're angered and confused by recent changes in Ohio's instant-bingo laws.
The changes, which took effect July 1, allow veterans, fraternal and other nonprofit organizations to obtain a license to sell instant bingo cards, also known as pull-tabs.
Under the changes in the laws, at least 50 percent of the net profit from sales of the pull-tabs must go to a governmental agency or a registered Ohio charity not associated with the organization selling the pull-tabs. The groups selling pull-tabs must sign a contract with the charity that will receive the money.
As much as 45 percent of the net profit from the pull-tabs can pay for rent and facility maintenance, and at least 5 percent can be donated to the charitable causes of the organization selling the pull-tabs, according to Kevin McHenry, vice president for finance and operations for Nannicola Inc., a Youngstown-based maker of bingo supplies.
Before the laws were changed, only philanthropic organizations such as churches or the Red Cross were allowed to sell pull-tabs and 100 percent of the net profit had to be donated to charity, but no contract was necessary.
A spokesman for the state attorney general's office said the changes were designed to eliminate storefront instant bingo shops in the state that were giving only a fraction of their revenue to charity.
Here's the problem
However, it's law-abiding groups that are unhappy about the changes.
"The law has been terribly written; the rules have been terribly written," said Glenn Neil, administrator for Moose Lodge No. 467 in East Palestine.
J.P. Brown III, an AMVETS national executive committeeman and a member of AMVETS Post 44 in Youngstown, added that the changes hurt clubs trying to help their communities.
"The laws put a burden on a whole lot of people," he said.
Local groups can express their concerns and ask questions about the changes in the laws at a forum at 6 p.m. Monday at the Holiday Inn MetroPlex in Liberty. The forum is hosted by Nannicola Inc.
Speakers at the forum will include state Sen. Marc Dann.
"There has been a lot of confusion about the laws, and that's what I'm trying to do something about," said Dann, of Liberty, D-32nd.
Also set to help explain the changes in the law at the forum is Columbus attorney Kurt Gearhiser.
Instant bingo is similar to the lottery and other games of chance in which players buy tickets and pull lift-off tabs to reveal numbers.
The licenses will cost groups between $500 and $4,500, depending on how long they plan to sell the pull-tabs and how much revenue they expect to collect.
Mark Gribben, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, said bingo, including the traditional game and instant games, is a $5 billion-a-year industry.
"A lot of these organizations are bringing in six figures a year," Gribben said. He said the Legislature took that revenue into account when setting the license fees.
Confusion
Brown called the license fees "outrageous" and said they will reduce the amount of money groups can donate to charity. AMVETS donates some of the money it raises from bingo to social programs and police and fire departments, he said.
Neil said he had planned to apply for a license to sell pull-tabs at the Moose Lodge bar.
"I filled out 2 inches of paperwork and had the check written," he said.
Before he submitted the application, however, he said he received a call from state liquor control saying that the lodge's liquor license did not allow it to sell pull-tabs.
A state liquor control spokesman directed questions to the state attorney general's office.
Chuck Vernon, the bingo chairman for the nonprofit Optimist Club in Cortland, said his group had applied for a license as a service organization. The club conducts service projects designed to help young people.
The state rejected the application and told the Optimist Club it must apply as a fraternal group, Vernon said.
"It is frustrating," he said.
hill@vindy.com
XCONTRIBUTOR: Staff writer Peter H. Milliken