A visitor’s guide from the Beulah Convention and Visitors Bureau is displayed. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
By: Michael Achterling
BEULAH, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office revoked the charitable gaming license of the Beulah Convention and Visitors Bureau on Monday and fined the organization $50,000 for multiple violations of the state’s gaming law.
The office is also requiring the Beulah tourism agency to repay more than $398,000 to its trust account after money was spent improperly, according to an office news release.
During an investigation, the gaming division of the Attorney General’s Office found the convention and visitor’s bureau had falsely reported paying nearly $278,000 in gaming proceeds to a business, but actually gave the money to itself. They also reported a $20,500 payment to a golf course when that amount was paid to an individual.
“Gaming organizations in North Dakota must follow strict rules, and it’s our responsibility to enforce them fairly,” Attorney General Drew Wrigley said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some organizations and individuals do not take these obligations seriously, as we saw with BCVB.”
The office also discovered that donations from the organization made to the Pfennig Wildlife Museum in Beulah never occurred and nearly $100,000 in net proceeds were used for ineligible purposes, such as acquiring debt and payments to individuals.
The Attorney General’s Office suspended “several” unnamed people from participating in charitable gaming, the press release said.
A 90-day suspension of the gaming site at Uncle Maddio’s Pizza in Minot was also issued by the office.
“Given the scope and gravity of these violations and lack of cooperation with the investigators, I have no choice but to revoke BCVB’s license and require repayment of unlawfully distributed funds,” Wrigley said. “BCVB and the individuals involved will have the opportunity to respond and request a hearing if they wish.”
The Beulah Convention and Visitors Bureau did not return a message requesting a comment.
The owner of Uncle Maddio’s Pizza declined to comment on the suspension of its gaming site.
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