New Restrictions May Mean the End of Michigan’s Charity Poker Games
Just a few weeks after a bill was introduced to relax recently enacted tighter regulation of charity poker games, the executive director of the Michigan Gaming Control Board, Rick Kalm, has proposed new rules to tighten regulations of the game even more.
According to Kalm, the new rules are needed in order to protect players and the charities that are meant to benefit from the games and also to help the board in regulating the games.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board is looking to impose heavy restrictions on the operation of charity poker rooms.
Kalm explained that as a result the charity games are completely unregulated
Last year charities made $19 million from the games and room operators made $18 million. However, poker room operators are arguing that the new rules would devastate the charity poker industry in Michigan.
The rules would allow just one charity to host a millionaire party at a site per day and restrict sites to hosting just 30 days of events per year. Most operators, such as Scott Menser who operates charity games at Doc’s Sports Retreat in Livonia, agree that the new rules “are enough to completely shut the industry down.”
