Bingo hall closure a blow to charities
I saw an article this morning in the Fort Frances Times Online about the closure of the Fort Frances Bingo Hall on December 31st.
More than 20 local charities are scrambling to find alternate fundraising sources in this Ontario community. They range from the Fort Frances Aquanauts and FFHS band to the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau and Legion Ladies’ Auxiliary.
But while I was going to write some snarky post about the ethics of fundraising through gambling... I was more interested in the reason given for WHY the bingo hall is closing. Take a guess. What do you think closed the hall?
Linda Larocque, vice-president of the Fort Frances Bingo Association, got an e-mail last Thursday regarding the closure. She said the reason given for the closure was “economic difficulties” as the number of bingo players has dwindled since the province-wide smoking ban came into effect May 31.
Given the amount of new laws here in the States banning smoking... I wonder if there is a fundraising niche market for smoking clubs. Maybe all donors need is a place to gamble, drink, and chain smoke in order to write big checks.
1 comment:
There are rumours that bingo is being banned in the US, is that true?
In the UK, bingo has suffered in recent months due to the ban on smoking in public places, causing smoking customers to either go outside for a cig and face the harsh cold (not a good move for the aged) or stay at home and not play, thus starving people like me wanting to Play Bingo UK Halls constantly. But banning bingo completely is ridiculous! It is a very mild form of gambling at the most! If you’re going to ban bingo then the lottery has to go too surely? Isn’t that gambling?
Bingo is a number game, based on pure luck, so really it’s not even similar to other gambling games such as poker and sports betting. It’s just like buying a lottery ticket just you have to get more numbers! So then why is it such a problem? Its just takes away the older generations entertainment while the younger generations indulge in perfectly “legal” things like DRUGS! Can they not see which the bigger problem is?
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