Schuylkill County Treasurer Linda Marchalk reminds area organizations of what types of games are legal under the Pennsylvania Local Option Small Games of Chance Act and what types of organizations are eligible to participate in the sale of Small Games of Chance.

The Small Games of Chance Law authorizes certain nonprofit organizations to conduct limited types of gambling which include pull-tabs, punchboards, raffles (including special raffles, basket raffles and Chinese auctions), daily drawings, weekly drawings, 50-50 drawings, race night games and pools, excluding sports pools.Some examples of illegal forms of gambling include sports betting (including pools involving professional or amateur athletics), quarter auctions, Monte Carlo/casino/poker nights, video gambling devices (including video poker or slots), Texas Hold'em tournaments, and poker runs."We are receiving notices of events being held that are not within the spirit of the law. We are also seeing events advertised by organizations that do not possess Small Games of Chance licenses. As treasurer, I want to educate organizations on how to be compliant with the law," Marchalk said.It is illegal to operate Small Games of Chance without a valid license.A license issued by the treasurer's office is for exclusive use of the entity only.It is unlawful for an organization to allow other organizations or individuals to use their Small Games of Chance license.Every eligible organization in which a license has been issued may conduct game of chance for the purpose of raising funds for public interest purposes only.Information is available at the treasurer's office website

http://co.schuylkill.pa.us/Offices/Treasurer/Treasurer.asp or by calling 570-628-1434.