Some P.E.I. Chase the Ace groups question provincial fees

Some volunteer groups thatrun Chase the Ace-type drawswish they didn't have to hand over some of their moneyto the P.E.I. government.

The province charges two per centon any prizes awarded over $1,000 as part of itslottery licence requirements.

"I'm not really in favour of them," said Rikki Schock, president of the Belfast Fire Department.

"We're doing all the work and they're taking a bit of our money," she said.

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Schockhas volunteered many hours the last three years selling tickets for theDeuce is Loose draw in the small ruralcommunity of Belfast.

The drawsraisemoney for the Belfast Fire Department, The Lions Club and the Belfast rink.

Organizers havepaid out about $2,000 in fees over that time.Schock would prefer just paying a flat licence fee.

"To pay the two per centon what we pay out is a little bit much," she said.

'You certainly notice'

The North River Fire Department and Kingston Legion Chase the Ace jackpot was more than $1 millionin 2016.

The groups each received $700,000 andpaid out $31,923 in feesto the government.

AnsonGrant, the chief of North RiverFire Department, called it a "tax grab," but is more understanding of the fees in light of the groups' success with the fundraiser.

"It's chump change in the big scheme of things," Grant said.

It is valuable to have someone controlling the lotteries and providing support and advice,Grant said.

"It could get out of hand," said Grant."I was one of the ones signing the cheques so you certainly notice especially as the lottery grew larger."

Grant suggested capping the fees once they reacha certain amount.

"It's a lot of extra money coming off the charities'bottom line," he said.

Province says fees justified

The province couldn't say exactly how much Chase the Ace-type draws had brought in. It did share that overall, lottery licencesincluding six Chase the Ace draws brought in revenue of just under $190,000 in 2014-2015.Thatjumped to almost $215,000 the next year including 51 such draws and grew again to almost $270,000 with 49 drawslastyear.

"There seemed to be every day there were a lot of licence requests coming in," saidAdam Peters, manager of consumer service with the province.

The fees are justified, Peters said, sincethere are administration costs and paperwork for the province, especially when the lotteries grow larger.

The money collected goes back into P.E.I.'s Justice and Public Safety Department.

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