Warning Forces Ventura County Charities Out of Gambling Games

The Thousand Oaks Kiwanis Club used to raise as much as $5,000 for local charities at its “Las Vegas Night,” an event where members make a donation to play games such as blackjack and roulette for the chance of winning prizes instead of money.

But this summer, the popular fund-raiser was scrapped. “I don’t want to end up in jail,” club President Tony Antonelli said.

That sentiment was echoed by several other members of Conejo Valley-area service clubs after Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury issued a countywide memo last month declaring that state gambling laws prohibit such events. “To put it simply, if these games are played for money or something of value, then they are illegal,” Bradbury said.

Bradbury also said that raffles are prohibited, and violation of the law is punishable by as much as six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, just as in other forms of illegal gambling.

Memo Affects Raffle Plans

Although several people who rent casino equipment for fund-raising events dispute Bradbury’s interpretation of state laws regarding gambling and lottery, the district attorney’s July 23 memo has caused many local nonprofit and charitable groups to cancel planned raffles and casino nights, group members said. It has also prompted the introduction of a bill last week by state Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) that would eliminate certain gambling restrictions for those same groups.

Several nonprofit and service organizations in Ventura County, including the Rotary Club, Boy Scouts and YMCA, have for years raised money through raffles or casino nights for projects to benefit the needy, the handicapped and the homeless, group representatives said.

“It’s going to have a devastating effect on service clubs and nonprofit groups,” said Charlie Myers, past president of the Newbury Park Rotary Club.

The club canceled its Sept. 12 casino night because of Bradbury’s memo and is now trying to decide what kind of fund-raising event to hold instead, Myers said.

“It was our largest fund-raiser of the year,” Myers said. The $4,000 to $5,000 raised at the annual casino night has been shared by the YMCA, a local scholarship fund, a program to feed housebound senior citizens and a campaign to buy lighting for the local high school athletic field, he said.

“What really irritates me is that these groups are trying to do some good, they are trying to make society better,” said Chuck Ward, general manager of Casino de Paris, a South Gate firm that earns about $1 million a year renting out gambling equipment, such as blackjack and craps tables, and providing card dealers to groups holding casino night fund-raisers.

Ward, whose firm arranges 700 to 800 parties annually for charitable organizations and private firms, said Bradbury is wrong.

For casino nights and raffles to be illegal, participants must be required to pay for a chance to win something of value, he said. The disclaimer no purchase necessary makes legal all games of chance that award prizes, including those conducted by supermarkets and fast-food restaurants, he said.

“We always tell our clients, regardless of what they are charging, anyone who requests free entrance and free chips to play must be allowed to play for free,” Ward said.

At End of Evening

At the end of a casino night, players exchange their winnings for raffle tickets that are used in a drawing for prizes, Ward said. “As long as you are willing to give out that raffle ticket or chance to win for free, it is not gambling or conducting an illegal lottery,” he said.

In practice, however, Ventura County Assistant Dist. Atty. Colleen Toy White said the prizes at most casino nights are awarded those who have won the most chips. “If you get money or a prize for the chips, that is illegal,” she said.

No one in Ventura County has been arrested or charged for conducting an illegal casino night or raffle, White said. Local law enforcement officials said they are seldom involved with casino nights unless a complaint is filed.

The issue of casino nights was raised in the county earlier this year, after advertisements for three such charitable fund-raisers appeared in a Thousand Oaks newspaper over a single weekend, Ventura County Assistant Sheriff Dennis Gillette said. The ads--which touted games of craps, blackjack and roulette--prompted Gillette to request from the district attorney’s office an opinion on the legality of operating casino nights, he said.

Legislation Introduced

At the request of several Conejo Valley service clubs, McClintock last week introduced legislation that would place on the ballot a state constitutional amendment allowing nonprofit and charitable groups to operate lotteries, raffles and other games of chance.

“The practice is already widespread; it won’t be doing anything other than removing the crime,” McClintock said.

In the meantime, fund-raising groups say they will consider using art auctions, wine tastings and other such events to raise money in place of the casino nights and raffles.

One executive with a major Ventura County nonprofit organization said the memo from the district attorney’s office came too late to cancel plans for a golf tournament and raffle being held today.

“I just hope the police aren’t going to raid us,” he said.