Clerk clears air on lottery license issue

Ken Johnston
Editor

It seems getting a lottery license in Rainy River is less of a roll of the dice than groups thought.
Rainy River’s Municipal Administrator, Deb Bowman, said last Wednesday that she has only denied the Chamber of Commerce and the Recreation Board approval for lottery licenses.
As for other groups reported in last week’s Record to have been rejected for licenses Bowman said that the Fire Department, and the Rainy River Hospital Auxiliary were never turned down.
In the case of the Fire Department she said that she was not sure if they would qualify as any government agency can not obtain a lottery license. “The town is government and they are part of the town,” said Bowman. However after exploring the situation with the fire department, Bowman learned that there is special consideration under the legislation for them. “They would have qualified for a license for their duck race, they just never applied.”
A similar situation occurred with the hospital aux. They approached the town for a license and Bowman said that they need to provide her with their charter or constitution showing that they clearly are a group raising money for charity. Contrary to reports by the auxiliary in their regular column,
Bowman said that she did not tell them that the regulations had changed. In fact they have stayed the same. Bowman felt they would qualify for a lottery license, but needed to bring the information in she requested, but never returned with it.
Gary White, a Gaming Registration Officer with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), said in a letter to Bowman, “Only those
non-profit organizations that have clearly defined charitable mandates are considered eligible to conduct lottery activities. The onus is on the group itself to prove to the licensing authority that they have objects and purposes that are considered charitable in nature and must provide documentation to support those claims.” That, says Bowman ,was not done by the Chamber of Commerce. In her opinion the Chamber of Commerce is a “lobby or special interest group.”
Chamber Treasurer Brent Anderson outlined the Chamber’s mission statement as per its constitution in a letter to Howard Hampton, MPP for Kenora-Rainy River. “The object of the Rainy River and District Chamber of Commerce is to Promote the Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural and Civic Welfare of Rainy River and the surrounding District.” In the letter Anderson admitted that the Mission Statement likely would not meet the true definition of a charitable organization. “In the true sense, we may not qualify, but I would ask any municipal, provincial or federal government official/politician to explain to our volunteers the work we undertake on behalf of the Town of Rainy River is not beneficial to our community or charitable in nature.”
In addition to proving an organization’s non-profit qualifications, each lottery license application must also provide a detailed plan as to how the proceeds for the lottery are going to be used. There are four main areas that the proceeds can be applied to and they are 1) relief of poverty; 2) advancement of education; 3) advancement of religion; 4) other charitable purposes beneficial to the community.
While some organizations can prove their non-profit status, they may not have the proceeds designated to a proper charitable recipient in their application and could be turned down for that reason.
As for the Recreation Board, Bowman reiterated that being that under the provincial legislation any body of government can not qualify for a lottery
license. The Recreation Board is an arm’s length organization of the Town and receives funding from the town to operate. Hence, Bowman said they too can not hold a lottery license. The Rainy River Public Library is another group in the same boat.
In the Chamber’s letter to Hampton, Anderson said that, “The boat raffle is to assist the Chamber in financing our Annual Walleye Tournament, provide financial assistance to other organizations and fund other vital causes in our area.”
According to the legislation, the money can not be used to fund an event like the walleye tournament.
Bowman noted that there are many other ways to raise money other than lotteries and that her office only issues about 6-10 of them a year in Rainy River. Things like bake sales and pig roasts do not need to be licensed as fund raisers.
Bowman said that she has contacted the Fire Chief and the Hosp. Aux. Chair to clarify the situations.
She noted that the reason for her wanting more clearly defined information from the local groups stems from a meeting she attended on December 11, 2000
with AGCO. “I had my eyes opened on eligibility of these organizations. It is my responsibility to ensure (they) meet all the criteria before issuing a license,” said Bowman.