Lodge 1 Charitable Gaming

Lodge #1 First In the State

Celebrating Twenty Years as a lodge 1991 - 2011

Minnesota Lodge 1 has operated charitable gaming for over fifteen years. Donations go to support local community events, local charities, children and brother and sister officers who might find themselves and their families in need through no fault of their own. Based out of Inver Grove Heights, our booths are at Alary`s Bar in St Paul, and Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 1088 in Inver Grove Heights. In our mission to support education,we are proud to announce that Lodge 1 has established a Law Enforcement Scholarship at Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights, MN. Inver Hills has for years had an established law enforcement program which many of the current officers around the state have used to begin their career in law enforcement. There has not been any dedicated scholarship program for the law enforcement program until Lodge 1 created it through the use of our charitable gaming program.

Lodge 1 also continues to support youth and education programs in our local communities. Donations have included MN Special Olympics, Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association, COPS, youth baseball, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America, the DARTS program, Law Enforcement United’s bike run during Memorial Week, St.Paul School Patrol, St Paul Park Athletic Association, Toys For Tots, and individual officers families and officers who have been in need. Donations to officer’s families who have lost their spouse in line of duty have been a priority for our lodge.

All profit monies are donated and not used to fund our lodge. All gaming activity is monitored by the Minnesota Gambling Control Board and we are licensed to operate our sites through them and the cities in which our booths are based. Money which is taken in by the booths is taxed by the State of Minnesota with monthly tax reports and payments being made to them. Our operation is audited yearly by an accounting firm and results submitted to Minnesota Department of Revenue to be reviewed by them. Cost for this audit runs over three thousand dollars. We also have complete site audits conducted by the Gambling Control Board agents for compliance with state gambling and revenue laws, and MN Revenue conducts another financial audit of the organization. The city of St Paul conducts their own site inspection for sites located in St Paul. They also tax the sites and require a 10% donation of profits to designated charities. All our records are maintained at a secure storage site for three and a half years as required by law.

This is a small part of how a gaming operation is conducted, with only a small percentage of money taken in is in turn donated after taxes, fees, rent, local taxes, required donations and other expenses are deducted.

Further information on charitable gaming can be found at the Minnesota Gambling Control website.