CALGARY – When parents enrol their children in hockey, swimming, skating, gymnastics or any other community event that needs money to operate, they are often surprised to find out they are automatically bingo volunteers.
Until a year ago, bingo was an easy way for groups to make some quick money in Alberta. All they had to do was provide 20 willing volunteers to work at the bingo. The only paid staff are callers and cashiers.
“It’s better than any bake sale,” said Dana Russell, president of the Federation of Alberta Bingo Associations. A bingo association consists of all the groups who use a specific bingo hall.
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However, with so many other games of chance available, particularly video lottery terminals in bars, community associations report profits from bingo are dropping, said Brenda Brown of the Federation of Calgary
Communities.
During a presentation to a provincial gaming review last week, Russell said VLTs are partly to blame for lower revenues by bingo operators across the province.
VLTs are only found in licensed premises because people must be over 18 to play them. There is no liquor allowed in bingo halls and subsequently no slot machines will be found there either, Russell said.
The second sword that’s slashing bingo profits is competition among a growing number of groups for a limited gambling dollar.
“Traditionally bingos and casinos were accessed by community-like groups. Now with budget cutbacks at the provincial government level you’ve got all these school groups, whether they’re the band parents or the parents’ association, sports groups or hospital groups that used to get government funding,” he said.
