Thirty years ago, Ron Gibbens and his wife founded the North Dakota Association for the Disabled. Now he says there is a strong possibility that two charitable bingo halls will close due to the smoking ban effect.

Gibbens isn’t asking for an exemption to the law because of the nature of the Association. "As an organization that provides for the health of citizens, we don't want the NDAD to be portrayed as being pro-smoking", he said.

What Gibbens wants is a tax relief for charitable gaming organizations. Currently, the state charges a 5% tax on the first $200,000 of the gross gaming proceeds, 10% on the next $200,000, 15% on the following $200,000 and 20% on proceeds of more than $600,000. Gibbens suggests a fixed 5% tax.

During a meeting, Gibbons presented his idea to a group of legislators and he also proposed the total elimination of the sales tax on bingo sales. Legislators seemed open to the idea of making changes in order to help charitable bingos and prevent them from closing.