Charity Casino

Charity Casino

We are witnessing a growing trend in the number of non-government organisations (NGOs) throwing a Charity Casino night as a method of raising funds for registered charities. Overall, charity gambling events seem to be proving very effective, mainly because a charity poker or casino night offers guests a lot of fun and excitement that tends to inspire people to donate generously.

One of the first questions that many events planners ask in regards to hosting a Charity Casino night is how to balance the apparent contradiction between raising money and providing people with enough incentives in the form of prizes to actually attend the event in the first place. Put simply, how can an organisation be sure that they will be successful in raising funds while simultaneously offering games where players can win money? Does an organisation run the risk of losing money on the charity gambling event as a result?

Gamble for Fun and Entertainment

The answer to this is it all depends how the event is organised. Make it clear from the outset to the glitterati who are being invited to participate at your organisation's charity gaming night that the event is to raise funds. This narrows any expectation on their part of profiting financially from attending. It is also very important from a legal perspective (and not to fall foul of local gambling law) to ensure the main reason for hosting a Charity Casino event is not to allow guests take on excessive gambling risks with the sole intention of making profit.

Some of the successful methods we have seen implemented by organisations that do throw Charity Casino nights is, while players will pay cash for their chips, they do not win chips/cash on any of the games on offer. Rather, they win prizes in lieu of money, donated by businesses and members of the community. For example, the top prize on a poker tournament table could be a free flights or a day trip to a spa.

Additionally, we have seen some organisations run a Tombola-style booth alongside the games where players may exchange their chips for prizes. These included anything from joke toys to colognes and clothing accessories, depending on the number of chips exchanged.

Charity Casino Games

Another way to safeguard the funds that your organisation raises is to only offer games that rely exclusively on chance and have a high house edge. Examples of this kind of game include Roulette, Keno, Baccarat and Craps. Blackjack has the lowest house edge and is not always the most profitable domain of a Charity Casino evening.

The above mentioned casino games are good choices to offer at any decent Charity Casino night because they epitomise the high rolling casino scene, and they are all extremely social. Visit any real land-based casino and you will always find the most action around the Roulette and Craps tables - in fact, the typical Craps table supports up to 8 simultaneous players, making it a great networking game. In fact networking is one of the main motivations for high powered business executives to attend Charity Casino evenings. The more powerful the list of attendees at a Charity Casino night, the easier it is to attract other guests, prize donations/sponsorship and press coverage. From experience and from speaking to casino events organisers, there is a direct correlation between the professional seniority of attendees of a charity poker night and the actually amount of money that is raised.

Another trusted method of arranging a themed casino night (casino royale charity night) in aid of fund raising without exposing your organisation to too much risk is to lower the payout odds on some of your table games. One common tactic is to only pay even money on low-risk Roulette bets, encouraging players to bet on the higher risk (and much less likely) outcomes.

Fundraising and Gambling Law

Overall, charity casinos work extremely well because of all of the glitz and glamour involved in it, combined with the great networking opportunities such an event throws up. It is fast becoming one of the most popular and legitimate means of charity entertainment. As a footnote, it is essential that you make it known to people who are attending that they will be expected to donate money to a worthy cause and that "gambling to win money" is not the sole reason for organising a Charity Casino night.