Charity bingo at the Best Western Palace Hotel and Casino has raised an amazing £45,000 for various charities this year. Charity bingo was held 48 times during the past year and each night was dedicated to raising money for a different charity. Participants can purchase tickets for £20 which includes 10 games of bingo, a buffet and a chance to win great cash prizes. Funds from Mechanical Coin Bingo are also given to charity along with funds made from raffles and other fundraising events.
Get Involved with Charity Bingo
Charity bingo is fun for everyone who attends as players are able to relax in a comfortable atmosphere and at the same time, contributing to a great cause. Charity bingo nights are almost as much fun for the bingo employees as it is for bingo players. The charities that benefit from charity bingo agree that it is one of their largest fundraisers and some events can contribute as much as £2,000 a night for charities. The charities are universally supported and everyone has a wonderful time. St. Mary’s Lourdes Youth Center, one of the charities that is supported by charity bingo, sends 25 youths to Lourdes, France each July to volunteer with assisting the disabled, elderly and sick. The funds that are received from charity bingo allow St. Mary’s to pay for accommodation and travel costs of the youths that go on the trip.
Ohio Charitable Bingo and VLTs
The owners of Ohio racetracks have argued that they need a fair chance to compete against casinos and racetracks in other states. They argued that the people of Ohio were going to racetracks in other states which had video lottery terminals (VLTs) and slot machines. This argument resulted in the installation of VLTs at Ohio’s racetrack facilities. Now, charitable bingo operations in Ohio are making the same claim. In 2010, Ohio had over 2,000 bingo games. This figured has dropped precipitously to a little over 1,300. The bingo games and supported charities are now struggling since the openings of casinos, racetracks and sweepstakes cafes. And it is likely that they will struggle more as additional casinos are opened.
Makeshift Solution to Bingo Woes
Because of this, charities have been forced to reduce services to senior citizens, veterans, the disabled, the poor and those will illnesses. These charities have discontinued services that many people have relied on. The charitable bingo operators say they are also only asking for a fair chance to compete just as the racetrack operators have. Owners of charitable bingo operations are only requesting permission to operate VLTs for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and not for a change in Ohio state law.
In order for charitable bingo to operate VLTs, there just needs to be a small change to the current laws so these operations can apply for a VLT license. The charitable bingo operators are also not asking for an increase in gambling but for the ability to operate games that have been around for years. Moreover, charitable bingo operators are asking to use these same games that have already done a great deal of good for the communities around Ohio.
Proud member of