Rod Grams: “I rise today to introduce S. 651, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to exempt charitable gambling activities…”

“I rise today to introduce S. 651, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code to exempt charitable gambling activities from Federal unrelated business income tax [UBIT]. Charitable gambling consists mostly of games such as pull tabs and raffles. The difference between charitable and regular gambling is where and how the profit is spent. Most of the income derived from charitable gambling games are spent in communities to fund activities such as Boy and Girl Scouts, Head Start, and city and school programs. In fact, charitable gambling and bingo games have become one of the most important sources to provide funding for many activities in communities for people of all ages. In my home State, Minnesota, charitable gambling pumped up $77.5 million in profits into a variety of community and charitable causes in 1995. The beneficiaries include youth recreation and education, as well as organizations serving the sick, handicapped, retarded and disabled and many other community programs. Many charitable gambling games are set up solely for the purpose of raising money for public projects, thus reducing the burden on taxpayers.”