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Bingo Fate

A NEW law which takes effect in September may prove a lethal blow to many bingo-game operators in Ohio.

Once the legislation is up and running, bingo halls will be permitted to increase their total payouts to $6,000 per session, that representing a $2,500 hike from the current levels.

The reasoning behind the new law is to provide bingo halls the ability to compete with casinos that will be popping up across the Buckeye State.

On the surface that may appear a good thing. For bingo players, such may be the case.

However, it may prove fatal to many bingo-game operators who are also currently battling dwindling attendance at their respective events. Bingo-hall owners, in many cases, are finding it difficult to pay out $3,500 per session in the wake of smaller crowds.

The $6,000 figure may be impossible to many. However, should bingo operators not up the ante, they run the risk of losing their clientele to those who are fortunate to make the larger payouts.

Locally, bingo games have long passed their zenith. In year’s past, countless charitable organizations, schools and churches relied heavily on bingo revenue to fund operations in the Ohio Valley.

Such is no longer the case. Bingo games have for the large part faded from the local landscape for various reasons. That is unfortunate, both for the sponsoring group as well as those who relished taking part, be it for financial gain or the social aspect.

The soon-to-be-enacted law will only hasten the decline of bingo, not just in the Ohio Valley but across the entire state. While sponsors of the bill may have intended to aid bingo operators, they may be driving the death knell into their bingo card.

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