Gov. Brown Approves Charitable Gambling At Professional Sporting Events
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California's major league sports teams will soon be able to conduct charitable gambling under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
The bill Brown announced signing on Monday gives professional sports teams the exclusive right to conduct charitable gambling by selling raffle tickets known as 50-50.
Such raffles are becoming popular nationwide but are banned under California law that caps charity raffle prizes. Half the proceeds are paid out as prize money and the other half goes to charities of the team's choice.
Some nonprofit charities opposed the bill, saying it gives franchise owners an unfair exemption others don't have.
A leading raffle vendor from Toronto, Pointstreak Sports Technologies Inc., spent heavily to lobby for SB549 by Democratic Sen. Isadore Hall of Compton.
