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Gambling Opponents Attack Charities

CHICAGO, Illinois – As reported by the Chicago Business: "Anti-gambling activists are taking on charity raffles, charging that the high-stakes contests are forms of gambling that often don't follow the law.

"Their efforts have forced one of the area's biggest—conducted by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital—to scale back marketing of its 'Dream Home Giveaway' raffle and to try to change the state's raffle statutes.

"Other targets include the Chicago Auto Show's First Look for Charity, which raffles off cars each year, and the Naperville Rotary Charities raffle, which is selling chances to win a house, cars and thousands in cash in a drawing next week.

"A consortium of anti-gambling groups accuse the charities of violating raffle licensing rules and bans on selling raffle tickets by mail.

"'These raffles are totally unregulated,' says Kathy Gilroy, who's spearheading the campaign for the consortium, which includes the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church Anti-Gambling Task Force and the Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems, among others.

"…The clash arises from the transformation of raffles from church-picnic drawings to widely advertised fund-raisers offering the kind of payoffs previously available only from casinos and lotteries…"

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