Good afternoon NDGA members!
We have several items to update you on and of course, would appreciate your feedback on any of these.
First, we are still patiently awaiting an update as to when the ND Gaming Advisory Committee and ND Gaming Commission will be meeting to finalize new administrative rules. They are delayed due to the passing of Wayne Stenehjem which is completely understandable. We will update you all as to when that meeting will be rescheduled and will send out the results after they meet.
On March 1st, I met with Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner. We discussed charitable gaming in detail and ND Gaming Alliance made it clear that at this time, there are no further restrictions on charitable gaming that we will be able to support. I know the opposition is pushing hard which has been proven by the interim committee meetings that we have been keeping track of. They are adamant about pushing machine limits and we stood strong that we would not be willing to compromise on that issue and several others that were discussed. We will continue to keep the line of communication open with our elected leaders and continue to promote to them the benefits that charitable gaming provides for our state and our local communities. It was a very good meeting with Senator Wardner and we look forward to continuing the conversation with him and others in the legislature.
On that note, ND Gaming Alliance has opened what we call our “Charitable Gaming Lobbying Fund”. I will be contacting you all individually over the next couple of weeks to explain this to you and what our goals are. In short, we are going to need resources going into the next session and it is going to be vital that we get participation from all our members to ensure that the charitable gaming industry is protected for many years to come.
ND Gaming Alliance is also looking for volunteers. I have started a list of members that will be willing to come to Bismarck to testify on bills affecting our industry. If you or any of your employees, board members, bookkeepers, gaming managers, etc. would be able to do that, please reply to this and I’ll get you added to that list. Legislators listen to lobbyists all day every day. I have been told by many that testimony given by someone that is directly impacted by legislation rather than a lobbyist is more effective. If you can’t make it to Bismarck, the legislature is also allowing testimony via Zoom. ND Gaming Alliance will host a training later this year for anyone who is interested in attending. This will be open to anyone who would like to testify but would like some simple suggestions and guidance on how to properly testify. The exact date and time of the training will be decided closer to the session starting and we will inform you ahead of time when it will be.
Finally, membership continues to grow at a nice pace. We will continue to grow that number to ensure that our voice is well heard during the session. Thank you all for continuing to support our organization and our industry.
As always, please reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns. We are here to help.
Mike Motschenbacher
ND Gaming Alliance
701-471-9014