In many American towns, the fire department is the centre of the community. Everyone knows their local team of firefighters, who run community activities, aside from their usual duties.
Bingo is a popular activity among local people and has been used as a way of financing operations. A weekly game at the Homewood Volunteer Fire Department used to bring in up to 500 people a night, cranking up the $150,000 per year needed to keep the station going.
However, of late, numbers at the bingo games have been dwindling. A recent study by the Carnegie Mellon’s Heinz School of Public Policy found that the development of new casino venues are proving more attractive to players, who are deserting bingo in favour of slot machines and casino games.
Some fire stations have closed their bingo nights, while others have cut down from twice a week to one weekly game. Less people means less profits, and Homewood now only makes a third of their budget via bingo games.
Big casinos are undercutting the smaller bingo operations. They offer a large-scale, more glamorous gambling experience complete with entertainment and dining, which appeals to many people.
Bingo nights used to bring people together for a fun night out and the chance of winning a prize. Since there were never any casinos in small, local areas, the bingo nights had no competition. As casino operators broaden their base and open more and more venues, they become more accessible to punters.
In an attempt to help the fire stations compete, a bill has been proposed that would enable 4 bingo sessions per week, and increase maximum bingo payouts up to $10,000. This should make the games more attractive, and tempt back players with the possibility of winning a big payout. The problem with this solution is that a bigger jackpot means higher ticket prices and more players needed. A book of six cards costs approximately $10 - $15, which could rise with a larger jackpot.
Indeed bingo is so much a part of many fire stations that several years ago, firefighter Walter Belles was fired for not attending enough of the company’s bingo nights. Contending that he never missed an emergency call, the luckless fireman was dismissed for missing the fund-raising events.
Bingo games are also often run by church communities as a way of fund-raising, and many are also finding it harder to bring in players lately. It seems that organizers of bingo activities need to modernize to compete with casinos and consider changing the way they run their games. Perhaps the Homewood firefighters should consider setting up an online bingo site to boost their income and complement the community events – after all, online gambling is the way to go in the 21st century.
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