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City Of Poway To Allow Some Charities To Host Remote-Caller Bingo

Posted on May 31st, 2010

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The city of Poway in California is all set to amend its bingo ordinance to authorize a form of bingo game which promoters say would enable winners to get bigger prizes and charities to earn more for their organizations. The game, called remote-caller bingo, is bingo which makes use of satellite so that a bingo game hosted by a local charity would be open to affiliated organizations in other places within the state as well as to local players.

A non profit organization in the city for instance could hold a bingo game and the other affiliates of the organization elsewhere in the state could watch and play the game through an electronic connection.

The caller, stationed in one locality, would call out bingo numbers from balls that fall from a machine and all the players all over the state would be watching the game at the same time from televisions or monitors. The game, broadcast live, will keep going until there is a winner. For years now, charities and other nonprofits are allowed under state gambling law to hold bingo games, but the person calling the numbers would have to be in the same room as the players.

According to an official of the Ontario-based Bingo Innovations, Alan Wapner, the charities benefited much from the bingo games. But lately, the fundraising activity has seen a decline since the tribal casinos started offering their own bingo games. Because the state’s gambling law has no jurisdiction over the tribe’s activities, the tribal casinos can offer remote-caller bingo that anyone within the state can play.

Wapner said the satellite bingo is drawing more players because the prizes are higher than those of a regular bingo, since part of a player’s fee goes into the prize pool. Bingo Innovations has been active in persuading the state to change its gambling law to allow satellite bingo. It is a private charity management company that assists non profit organizations get into remote-caller games, and is the only one thus far authorized by the state to install remote-caller bingo games for nonprofits.

The cities are given free rein by the state on whether or not to allow remote-caller bingo in their area. The following are those organizations qualified to host remote-caller bingo according to state law: nonprofits granted 501(c)3 status by the Internal Revenue Service, senior organizations, mobile-home park associations and charitable organizations connected with a school district. These organizations must be at least three years old.

Poway City Attorney Lisa Foster said officials of the city’s Sheriff Department had informed her they are not opposed to the holding of satellite bingo games in the city. Foster said there are adequate checks and balances in the state law as well as in the proposed revision to the city’s bingo ordinance to allay anyone’s fears and worries.

The amended bingo law provides that not more than 37 percent of the takings from a remote caller bingo game will go into the prize pot. Bingo Innovations will receive a fee of not more than 20 percent and the remaining 47 percent will go to the charity hosting the game. Wapner said his company will supply all the technology, equipment, employees and services involving accounting and marketing that hosting a remote caller bingo game in Poway necessitates.

The American Legion Post 470 in the city of Poway is considering hosting the satellite games. Judge-advocate Darvin Dalrymple could not say for sure what the organization’s final decision might be, as there are a number of things that should first be taken into account. He is expected to meet the organization’s members in early June.