Casinos may hurt bingo charities

Casinos may hurt bingo charities
New Mass. gambling option likely to cut revenue
By Chris Camire
09/23/2012

Each week, thousands of people across the state crowd into church halls and civic clubs hoping to yell a five-letter word that has provided a rush since childhood: BINGO!



Nancy Parker of Billerica holds her $500 prize for winning a round of bingo at the Elks Lodge in Tewksbury Tuesday night. She's been playing for about 35 years. SUN / JULIA MALAKIE


While players are hoping to win some cash, bingo nights also serve a worthy cause -- raising millions of dollars for charity. But bingo nights could face competition when three resort casinos and one slot parlor open in different regions of the state as early as 2015.

"Anytime there is a new gaming venture, or a new type of gaming entered into a marketplace, whether it be an expansion of Lottery or an introduction of casinos, there will some impact," said Beth Bresnahan, director of marketing and communications for the state Lottery. "We certainly expect one on traditional Lottery sales, and there will be some on charitable gaming."

Charitable gambling in Massachusetts grosses approximately $75 million annually, about $18 million of which is retained by the sponsors of the events, according to a report recently released by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Bingo is by far the most popular game, with $38.8 million being wagered in 2011 alone. Of that, $1.6 million was retained by the charitable sponsors and $30.7 million was returned to players in the form of prizes.

Nearly 200 games are conducted throughout the state annually, typically on a weekly basis. Over the years, bingo games have been in steady decline, however.

Licensed sponsors of charitable gaming events include churches, veterans groups, civic organizations and youth groups. In many cases, the gambling revenue generates the bulk of the funding these organizations donate to charity.

In Greater Lowell, local organizations made a combined $194,512 in profits from bingo games in Billerica, Chelmsford, Lowell and Tewksbury in 2011. In Middlesex County, 31 organizations earned $1.4 million in total profits last year. The gross receipts for bingo games totaled $7.4 million.

Alan Rock, who runs bingo night at the Elks Lodge No. 2070 in Tewksbury, said the impact casinos have on his Tuesday night bingo game will likely be determined by how their proximity to the lodge.

Some of the regions under consideration as possible sites for casinos include downtown Springfield, Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston, Taunton, Milford, Palmer and New Bedford. Slot parlors have been proposed in Charlton, Plainville and Raynham.

The Tewksbury lodge attracts about 160 people per week, charging $10 per card. The money raised is used to give scholarships to local students, fund Thanksgiving dinners for senior citizens, and buy dictionaries for every third-grade student in Tewksbury and Wilmington.

"We may take a small hit, but I'm not sure how much of one," said Rock.

Still, Rock said any reduction in the number of people playing bingo would force the organization to cut back on its charitable giving.

Bresnahan said people often go to bingo for camaraderie they may not get in casinos.

"The emotional attachment to a bingo game, or a bingo location, and knowing while you enjoy the game, you're also helping the associated nonprofit raise money, there's a stronger emotional tie that players or people who frequent those games have," she said.

Bingo was banned in Massachusetts for nearly 30 years, starting in the 1940s.

The ban was overturned in 1971 by Gov. Francis Sargent.

In 2009 there were 212 organizations licensed to conduct bingo in the Bay State. Each week they attracted proximately 30,000 weekly players who spent over $62.4 million.

The maximum bingo prize amounts have increased over time from $50 when the law was first passed, to $3,000 in 2000. Churches and nonprofits are allowed to host bingo twice a week.

Bingo in Massachusetts already faces competition from New Hampshire. And in 1986, a bingo hall opened in Connecticut that would one become Foxwoods Casino.

Foxwoods now advertises that its 3,600-person bingo hall is considered among the world's largest.

Bresnahan is hopeful that casinos will attract a different type of bingo player than local charity groups.

"Bingo games they offer are not high-stakes," she said. "If you look at the games casinos have, those are high-stakes games with much higher entry points and prizes."

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