It would be part of their fundraising efforts.
The Maryland State House, Annapolis, Md.
Frederick, Md (KM) The Frederick County Legislative Delegation will be working on a number of bills during the upcoming General Assembly, including one allowing local non-profits to accept credit cards for gambling activities such as bingo and tip jars. It would all be part of their fundraising activities.
The legislation was proposed by County Councilman Mason Carter at the request of several volunteer fire companies which hold fundraising events to pay for their equipment, vehicles and day-to-day operations.
Jim Graham, the President of the Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company, spoke about this recently with local lawmakers. He said the biggest expense facing his company is replacing; aging apparatus. “We got our brush truck which is currently a 2010 unit paid $222,000 for it,” he said. “We priced out to replace it in 2025: $600,000. Ridiculous!” He says allowing fire companies to accept credit cards for gambling activities could help with fundraising for new apparatus.
The bill was introduced for the 2024 General Assembly, but it failed to pass. “We have an issue with the legality of it. And that’s the show stopper,” said State Senator Karen Lewis Young.
She also said one problem with this bill is a number of credit card companies don’t want customers to use these cards for gambling. “If you’re purchasing something from Amazon. it’s a one-time purchase. For some individuals, gambling can become an addiction,” Senator Lewis Young said.
Graham also said most people use credit cards for just about anything in this day and age. “Why I can go on line and use my credit card to gamble on Fan Duel Sports, but the local fire companies can’t accept credit cards to do a gaming event. This makes absolutely no senses to the common guy,” he said.
“What we’re asking for doesn’t cost the taxpayers anything, Zero,”: Graham continued. “But if we can’t get this through, this is going to cost the taxpayers of Frederick County something because Frederick County is going to be buying all the apparatus not only for Walkersville, but for every other volunteer organization in the county.”
Delegate Jesse Pippy, who is also the Delegation Chair, told Graham there was probably another reason why the bill stalled last year. “I think it really got hung up with is that there were other entities that wanted to use cards for their gaming stuff,” said Delegate Pippy. “You’re way down here at bingo. They’re way up here with MGM and they’re like ‘us too, us, too.’ That’s what stopped the show. because they didn’t want to set a precedent where they hook you up, and now they’ve got to hook up these big guys. We’ll keep you posted.”
The 2025 Maryland General Assembly gavels into session on Wednesday, January 8th.
By Kevin McManus