
DATE: Tuesday, November 4, 1997             TAG: 9711040287

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL  

SOURCE: BY MATTHEW DOLAN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  122 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: * Tidewater Humane Inc. was incorrectly listed as a ``society'' and a shelter for stray animals in a story Tuesday about bingo operations in Tuesday's Virginian-Pilot. Tidewater Humane Inc. sponsors a spaying and neutering program for animals, but does not operate a shelter. Correction published Wednesday, November 5, 1997. * CAUSES RECEIVE LITTLE FROM CHARITY GAMING

A study of charitable gambling in Virginia has found that 22 bingo and raffle operations in South Hampton Roads, each grossing more than $500,000 a year, returned less than 6 percent to the causes they support.

While the operators of these games were not breaking any laws or regulations, they have a long way to go to meet new state regulations approved Monday by the Virginia Charitable Gaming Commission.

The operators represent more than half of 40 organizations statewide analyzed by the commission.

One of the bingo operators, Ryan Academy of Norfolk, collected $559,570 in gross receipts in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1996, but only 0.2 percent - $1,000 - went to charitable purposes. The state average for all 451 charitable gaming organizations in the same year was 11 percent.

``The management that was running that game is no longer with us,'' said Lou Rivera, headmaster at the 90-student private school. ``Since it's a cash business, if you don't have tight reins, money can slip through the cracks. To be quite frank with you, I don't know what happened. It was to the dismay of the school and the bingo commission.''

Though these games bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars from bingo and raffle sales, many organizations have little left over after paying rent and equipment expenses and awarding prizes. In Virginia, 76 percent of all charitable gambling money collected is paid back in prize awards alone.

Still, for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1997, organizations collecting more than $500,000 were required for the first time to spend at least 6 percent on charities.

In 1998, that requirement will increase to 9 percent; in 1999, it will increase to 12 percent.

Failure to meet the requirements will mean suspension and, if not corrected, revocation of the organization's state gambling permit, officials said.

With the state's help, Rivera said, his school's bingo game is turning around. Since the state assumed regulation of all charity organizations involved in bingo and raffle in July 1996, the headmaster said more than $20,000 has gone to pay for the needs of the school, such as purchasing vans and computers.

The Charitable Gaming Commission, which has governed charitable gambling since July 1996, voted on new standards Monday that will ratchet up how much organizations will have to give to charity if they run a gambling operation.

Charitable bingo, instant bingo tickets and raffles generate annual sales of $215 million statewide. Organizations in South Hampton Roads collected almost $50 million in gross revenues from gambling in the 1996 fiscal year, with about $3.7 million going to charity during the same period.

There are several exemptions from these stricter rules, including all games collecting less than $25,000 from bingo or raffles in a given year.

But many bingo groups in South Hampton Roads have a long way to go toward improving the amount of money they spend for charitable purposes.

``While the number of organizations in your area is close to other regions, the games are much bigger in Hampton Roads,'' said Jerry Rowe, executive secretary of the Virginia Charitable Gaming Commission.

But commission Chairman Edward J. Fuhr said that should have led to great economies of scale for expenses and an increased percentage of its gambling take donated to charity.

``No, I don't think these numbers are misleading. These organizations are going to have to step back and look at work they are doing,'' Fuhr said. ``They have to ask themselves: Why do they have a million-dollar game that yields less than 2 percent for charity?''

Some in this region have argued that intense competition from other bingo organizations, high rents for bingo halls and player admission taxes charged by several cities hamper an organization's ability to increase its charitable donations.

Norfolk, for example, collected more than $100,000 in admission taxes from charitable gambling organizations in 1996, according to the city's Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue.

But some organizations already are exceeding the new requirements.

Tidewater Humane Inc. has been able to raise $259,000 to provide shelter for stray animals and sponsor a spaying and neutering program to prevent the birth of unwanted dogs and cats.

That amount represents 17 percent of the $1.528 million the Virginia Beach organization collected from its bingo games in fiscal year 1996.

``We have a good rapport with people, so they like to come out to our games,'' said Dianne E. Pope, Tidewater Humane Society's office manager and a bingo player. ``We try to improve our game all the time.''

Could stricter requirements on charitable donations force some organizations to fold their bingo games?

Several in the area already have. The Suffolk Reiners 4-H Cloverbud Unit and Kempsville Borough Boys Baseball - which both collected more than $500,000 in gross receipts but donated less than one-half of 1 percent to charity - have closed their games, citing a dearth of volunteers to staff the games.

But statewide, the total number of charitable organizations playing bingo or holding raffles has grown from 451 to 480.

Even Rivera at Ryan Academy said he expects the school's operation to survive.

``Since the gaming commission took over. . . our game is already showing a profit. We're excited; we're exuberant. We know a lot more now,'' he said. ``We were on the verge of saying this is not even worth the hassle. But not any more.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

BILL TIERNAN/File photo

No cutline info...

[someone playing bingo]

Graphic

In 1995-1996, Here's what some charitable gambling operators donated

Organization

City

Receipts

Sent to Charity

% to charity

For complete copy of graphic, see microfilm KEYWORDS: CHARITY DONATION BINGO GAMBLING