MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana is forcing a senior center to stop offering prizes for card games in which residents pay a few dollars to play, saying the packages of cookies or toilet paper offered to winners makes the euchre games gambling.
Judy Elton, director of the Delaware County Senior Citizens Center in Muncie, said the Indiana Gaming Commission contacted her early last week. She said the center will comply with state law and stop offering prizes.
“Someone called (the state) and was concerned,” Elton said. “If you pay to play and win prizes, that’s considered gambling. We thought that only applied to cash prizes. These people only win a pack of toilet paper or a can of peaches.”
The agency reached out to the center to educate officials about the law after receiving a complaint, Sara Tait, executive director of the Indiana Gaming Commission, told The (Muncie) Star Press (http://tspne.ws/1RHGVQz ).
Elton and members of the center’s board are concerned about the loss of revenue it received from about 50 euchre players. The center was given about $1 of the $2.50 fee collected by the euchre club, Elton said, adding that it usually pulls in about $30 for a three-hour session.
