Elite Casino Productions, LLC
Charity Gaming
Fundraising… if it were easy, everyone would do it.
Navigating Indiana’s Charity Gaming Statutes and Regulations can be challenging, and while we won’t promise you wealth beyond your dreams for a casino night fundraiser, we can promise you straight answers, educated advice, and an event that won’t violate the law of Indiana.
Don't gamble without a license.
“Gambling” means risking money or other property for gain, contingent in whole or in part upon lot, chance, or the operation of a gambling device. Gambling without a license is prohibited in Indiana, both by criminal statutes and civil gaming statutes.
It’s a simple rule but I see and hear bad advice all the time. The Charity Gaming statutes in Indiana are not always easy to follow, especially when it comes to the use of a casino as a fundraising device.
At Elite Casino Productions, it is very important to us that our clients get information that is accurate and does not put them at risk. Do we lose jobs because of it? Absolutely. Does it drive us crazy that other companies will do things we won’t do? Very much so. All we can say is that when the Indiana Gaming Commission walks into your Elite Casino Productions casino party, you’ll have nothing to worry about.
Casino Fundraising
What counts as gambling?
– buying chips to play casino games for prizes
– buying a ticket to trade for chips to play casino games that get turned into play money that gets used to buy prizes at a silent auction
– a required buy-in to play in a poker tournament where the winner gets paid
The Indiana Gaming Commission takes a broad view of what counts as gambling, and although we provide information designed to be helpful to you as you plan your special event, we recommend that you always check with a compliance officer at the IGC, especially if you intend on fundraising.
Casino Fundraising
Legal Casino Party Fundraising
There are safe and legal ways to integrate casino entertainment into your fundraising event without running afoul of the law. It will require a little creativity, and you may have to adjust your expectations about what is possible, but it can be done to create a casino night fundraiser.
Most people think of a casino as a big money machine, and the casino industry makes it seem true. Obviously there are success stories but casinos go out of business all the time. If it weren’t for slot machines, most casinos would have a hard time making ends meet. Unfortunately, in Indiana, slot machines are not permitted at your fundraiser or special event, even for decoration.
For instance, Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, IN earned about $450,000 from table games in April 2014. That’s only about $15,000 per day. That’s taxed at over 22%, then they have to pay all their staffing and operations expenses. After that, Indiana State and Federal Income taxes… it’s a hard buck. Plus, they are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your fundraiser is only going to be open for a few hours.
In our experience, a live casino game at a licensed fundraiser is going to generate about $50/hour gross revenue on average, and that’s putting the house money at risk.
Risk
The bad news is that we can’t directly generate tons of revenue for your fundraiser with our professional casino entertainment staff and services. The good news is that, if you get help from us, you will incur no risk.
If you like risk and want to take your chances in order to try and generate more money for your organization, you’ve a few choices:
– get a license and gamble for profit, in which case we can provide some limited assistance,
– gamble without a license and take your chances you won’t get caught,
– or hire one of our competitors who are less interested in strict compliance with the law. There are non-compliant fundraisers that happen all the time, just not ours.
