Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) announced Thursday that he has signed on as a cosponsor of new legislation, coined the Charitable Gaming Act of 2016, which would allow charitable organizations and raffle holders to accept credit and legal tender for raffles as well as advertise and sell tickets online.

Hawley has also introduced his own legislation, A.10516, to remedy New York’s archaic and detrimental gaming laws.

“I am eager to see this bill come to the floor for a vote,” Hawley said. “It is scheduled to pass through committee today, and being authored by a Majority member gives it that much more potential to move through the legislative process.

"As I’ve said before, this is an issue that affects communities and benevolent organizations all across the state. Our statutes need to catch up with technology before more damage is done, and that is exactly what this legislation aims to do.”

Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I- Batavia) today encouraged groups that hold raffles for fundraising and charity to write letters of support to Assemblyman Gary Pretlow (D-Mt. Vernon), chair of the Assembly’s Racing and Wagering Committee, encouraging him to introduce legislation that would help groups like the Stafford Fire Department legally operate their raffles.

“It is gravely important to our end goal of bringing back the Stafford car raffle that local groups write letters to Assemblyman Pretlow urging him to introduce the legislation that I have written,” Hawley said. “This is the first step in getting legislation passed. We have to show Assembly leadership that there is intense grassroots support for this legislation and that thousands of non-profits and charitable organizations will be gravely impacted if this injustice isn’t corrected.”

Current gaming regulations do not allow charitable groups and non-profits to collect raffle fees using check or credit cards and do not allow the sale of tickets outside of the county which the event will be taking place. The Stafford Fire Dept. previously sold tickets nationwide for its annual car raffle and used the proceeds for charitable donations and to fund the department.

Letters to Assemblyman Pretlow should include information about the group’s previous raffles and what profits were used for. A copy should be sent as soon as possible to Pretlow’s Albany office, his district office and Hawley’s district office. If you have any questions please call Hawley’s office at 585-589-5780. Pretlow’s office addresses are below.

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow
LOB 845
Albany, NY 12248

Assemblyman Gary Pretlow
District Office
6 Gramatan Ave.
Mt. Vernon, NY 10550

Assemblyman Steve Hawley

District Office

121 N. Main St.

Albion, NY 14411 

Dinner, drinks, raffles, entertainment, fun!!!

For ticket information call:  585-343-2783

For sponsorship information call:  585-813-5371

Complete details are available at:  www.ndhsbatavia.com

If you are interested in participating please contact Dawn Vanderkooi at 585-698-4857 or dvanderkooi@hotmail.com