Connecticut Taking a Closer Look at Charitable Bingo

Posted on November 24th, 2009

The use of bingo for charitable purposes has been well established for decades in the US and the UK. Internet bingo websites often have games to benefit various charities. Probably the most famous example of this was the charitable games held by Kezia Obama the mother of the US president. Mrs. Obama’s games benefited the Sue Ryder Charity in the UK which helps cancer patients and those facing serious illnesses. Churches and veterans groups have held popular bingo games to raise money for various programs. In the US bingo games enable some
Catholic parishes to subsidize tuition at parochial schools keeping costs affordable for parents. Veterans on both sides of the Atlantic use bingo games to generate funds for various programs that benefit veterans who have given so much to their respective countries. Believe it or not bingo does have its opponents. In the US the governor of Alabama is waging an all out war against electronic bingo.

The state of Connecticut has started to monitor charitable bingo games closely. In Connecticut charitable gaming is controlled by the state’s Division of Special Revenue which monitors bingo, sealed ticket machines and even the game of cow chip bingo. Most people see these charitable games as innocent entertainment. Charitable bingo games have helped many charitable organizations during the current recession. The state of Connecticut is concerned that someone in these organizations will take advantage of the state’s system and pocket some of the money raised by charitable bingo games.

Charitable gaming has a long history in Connecticut and the most profitable game is bingo. Some organizations generate hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in bingo revenue. Because of the amounts of money involved the state is taking a closer look at many charitable bingo games. Now bingo providers have to provide a report to the state within 10 days of every bingo game. Many are less than thrilled with the prospect of providing detailed reports to the state after every game. Dale Bruckhart, who runs the bingo games for St. Aedan and St. Brendan Roman Catholic churches in New Haven said, “It does take a tremendous amount of time. Thank God we have a lot of volunteers. If you want to run a legal bingo, you have to follow the law.”

US internet bingo fans continue to play despite the ban on internet gaming. Players cite better games, larger jackpots and free bingo bonuses as reasons for playing bingo online. Most ningo websites offer players a larger than average bingo deposit bonus in addition to the usual bingo sign up bonus. Most industry observers expect online gaming to be legalized in the US in the very near future.