{"id":25203,"date":"2012-06-06T00:08:09","date_gmt":"2012-06-06T05:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/?p=25203"},"modified":"2012-06-07T05:18:47","modified_gmt":"2012-06-07T10:18:47","slug":"bingo-still-spells-big-bucks-for-local-charitable-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2012\/06\/06\/bingo-still-spells-big-bucks-for-local-charitable-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Bingo still spells big bucks for groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/<\/strong>independent feature writer<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bingo players enjoy a game at the Van Wert Senior Citizens Center on Monday evening. Despite decreasing profits statewide, local non-profit organizations are holding steady in game attendance and bingo profits. (Cindy Wood\/Van Wert independent)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Straight lines are so 20 years ago. These days, it\u2019s four corners, corner clusters, big diamonds, inside squares or a variety of other combinations when a player yells \u201cBingo!\u201d<\/p>\n

When they do, Ed Fox is ready. For many years, Fox has been volunteering his time to run twice-weekly bingo sessions at the Knights of Columbus hall on Woodland Avenue. Although bingo revenues have decreased statewide, local non-profits are seeing just the opposite.<\/p>\n

For over two decades, St. Mary of the Assumption School has received a steady revenue stream from charitable bingo. This year looks to be especially profitable for the school, which stands to receive close to $100,000 in revenue from bingo.<\/p>\n

While bingo opponents offer every argument against the game, Fox sees it as a way to assist non-profits — and keep money in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne-hundred percent of our revenue goes to the school,\u201d Fox said. \u201cIf they\u2019re not going to give it to us, they\u2019re going to give it to someone else, so at least it stays local.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many bingo players, Fox said, have been attending sessions for years, and the game appeals to players of any age. While state law prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from participating, the game\u2019s popularity is drawing in a younger crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see people here of all ages,\u201d said Dick Hoverman, bingo chairman at the Van Wert Senior Citizens Center.<\/p>\n

The Van Wert Council on Aging began conducting charitable bingo in the fall of 2010 as a means of generating revenue to help offset decreased state and federal funding. Despite the recent openings of Ohio casinos, both local organizations are holding steady, or even increasing, revenues and attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re averaging anywhere from sixty to seventy people on Monday nights, and our attendance is up over last year,\u201d Hoverman said, adding that special giveaways and door prizes have helped to draw in more people.<\/p>\n

At the K of C hall, Fox has added a \u201cwarm-up\u201d game that has also helped to increase profits. Raffles, instant games and concessions also add to the bottom line.<\/p>\n

Bingo is not only popular for players, it\u2019s a big financial boost for the organizations that benefit from bingo. \u201cOur bingo revenues help us provide services to senior citizens like transportation and lawn mowing in the summer,\u201d Hoverman said. \u201cNon-profit organizations have to continually find ways to raise money, so anytime we can do that in this economy, we\u2019re very thankful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bingo financials are public record, and are regularly audited by the state. As of 2010 (the most recent figures available from the state attorney general\u2019s office), there were 10 organizations in Van Wert County licensed to conduct Type I, II or III bingo.<\/p>\n

While charities designated as 501(c)(3) can keep 100 percent of the profits, fraternal and veterans organizations are required to give a certain percentage to local charities.<\/p>\n

Typically, charities actually lose money on Type 1 bingo, the traditional game where players receive a cash payout for getting a bingo. The money is gained back, however, on the sale of instant bingo tickets, oftentimes referred to as \u201cpull tabs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cWe definitely lose money on regular bingo,\u201d Fox said. \u201cBut we get that back in instants. That\u2019s really where you make money.\u201d The records reflect that. St. Mary\u2019s bingo lost approximately $36,000 in Type 1 bingo in 2010, but grossed over $154,000 in instant tickets.<\/p>\n

No matter what side of the fence you\u2019re on, bingo is big business for Ohio charities, although casinos and other types of gambling are leading to lower bingo revenues in parts of the state. According to the Ohio Attorney General\u2019s numbers, bingo has brought approximately $100 million in profits to Ohio non-profit charities from 2005-2010. During that time, state residents spent approximately $6.3 billion on bingo, which represents a decline of 25 percent.<\/p>\n

Statewide, non-profits have experienced a drastic reduction in revenue. Locally, though, bingo remains a popular pastime for players, as well as a significant revenue source for non-profits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn attendance, we\u2019re probably seeing just about the same, but we\u2019ve got a really good year going, one of the best years we\u2019ve ever had,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CINDY WOOD\/independent feature writer Straight lines are so 20 years ago. These days, it\u2019s four corners, corner clusters, big diamonds, inside squares or a variety of other combinations when a player yells \u201cBingo!\u201d When they do, Ed Fox is ready. For many years, Fox has been volunteering his time to run twice-weekly bingo sessions at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-04 04:32:28","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25203\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}