People keep saying the ARRL needs to do something to goose up it’s membership numbers. Problem is, few have good ideas for how they should do that, although from what I read most suggest that they throw open the floodgates in Newington and give everything away for free. Memberships, magazines, books, you name it. I suppose they could simply anoint all licensed radio amateurs in the US as official “members” and declare victory with 100 percent membership? Instead of that, the ARRL is going the decidedly more “American” route; a high value lottery.

The National Association for Amateur Radio® has introduced a sweepstakes, offering members the chance to win an Icom Dream Station including a limited-edition IC-7760 HF/50 MHz transceiver, IC-PW2 amplifier, and microphone, generously donated by Icom America. The ARRL Sweepstakes will run from January 3 to December 31, 2025. It is an exciting centerpiece of a year-long campaign to encourage new membership, and a fun way for current members to extend their support for ARRL.

There’s no way for me to tell if this will move the needle, but I think if they are headed down this road anyway, they should go the route American’s love more than life itself, gambling! It’s everywhere. America is one giant casino where you can gamble on everything. Sports, games, even the exact moment a traffic light changes! People are bleeding their retirement accounts to visit distant casinos and lose everything they have with a drink in their hand, the way Jesus and the Founding Father’s intended.

I know this to be true because winter weather has kept me indoors watching more television than usual where I’ve noticed every third commercial is another chance to gamble. (The 2nd most prevalent television advert is for boner pills while number one are those “all over” deodorant commercials. Apparently, women are sitting on a mountain of stink and there’s profit to be mined from it).

I figure the ARRL could integrate online betting in conjunction with the many contests it sponsors. They just make membership mandatory in order to enter a bet and away they would go. Increased membership, increased revenue, happy days are here again! Of course, they would have to spin off a new organization that would fit into the US gambling tax system, but that seems a tiny price to pay for such large rewards.

I’m not kidding about this. All other ideas for member growth are weak tea by comparison. You figure out a way to integrate gambling with amateur radio and the ARRL will be rolling arse over elbows in new members and their dollars…