LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Charitable gaming machines shut down by the state last week are now allowed to operate once again. A Jefferson County circuit court judge sided with three nonprofits, including Shirley’s Way, Tuesday night, granting them temporary injunctive relief after they sued because of the shutdown order.
“The charities across the state are extremely excited that the courts ruled in our favor for now,” said Mike Mulrooney, founder of Shirley’s Way.
On Friday, Nov. 21, nonprofits across the Commonwealth were told by the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation to stop using certain pull tab charitable gaming machines.
Court documents obtained by Spectrum News show a judge temporarily blocked that decision from being enforced.
Mulrooney explained the reason for the shutdown order came after it was discovered scammers were targeting gaming rooms like his.
“They would ring up a bunch of credits and then cash out and collect their money illegally,” he explained. “In a sense that’s been fixed, they flashed the firmware on all these bill acceptors, and the problem’s fixed.”
The shutdown order left many nonprofits that rely on charitable gaming as a revenue stream in a difficult place, including the Southwest Center for the Developmentally Disabled.
“We turned it all off. We have five active locations, 55 machines; they were all turned off immediately,” said Dana Slucher, the organization’s leader.
She added their machines can bring in thousands of dollars daily and calls the judge’s order a relief.
“Knowing that we would lose fundraising money impacted how we support adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” Slucher said.
At Shirley’s Way and the Southwest Center, machines are back online and patrons are stopping by as the long holiday weekend begins.
But Mulrooney believes the multi-day shutdown will impact how much money is raised this year.
“The loss of the theft was bad, but the loss of shutting the games down, the revenue was ten times worse,” Mulrooney said.
He added without charitable gaming, Shirley’s Way would not still be in operation.
The charities that sued and the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation will appear in court on Dec. 8.