Bingo growth raises concerns
By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A 10-year run of regular bingo in Hartselle may be headed in a new direction after two separate parties recently indicated an interest in bringing an electronic version of the game to town.
Mayor Dwight Tankersley said a Cullman couple has inquired about getting a bingo permit and requested a copy of the city's bingo ordinance.
"They're interested in offering electronic bingo," he said.
Tankersley made reference to the inquiry after Bill Partridge, a member and chaplain of John F. Thompson American legion Post 52, asked the city council to allow the post to increase the amount of money it keeps from bingo proceeds from 25 to 51 percent.
"Slowly but surely, we're going broke," Partridge said. "Bingo is struggling because it has to compete with so many other activities and we're not allowed to advertise it except by word of mouth. Our expenses are also going up. We spend $1,500 to $1,800 per quarter for utilities. You just can't operate on the $25 a year dues we receive from our members."
The council asked City Attorney Larry Madison to prepare an amended version of the bingo ordinance for their consideration at a later date.
Since then, the city has received a second request for a permit to operate electronic bingo.
"It looks like we'll be getting two applications for bingo permits in the near future," Tankersley said. "My concern is that we don't end up with several bingo operations. That would take away from the Legion's ability to generate funds for the worthwhile projects it sponsors each year. We want to ensure that the money bingo generates is used in large part for charitable purposes."
Tankersley said he's not familiar with electronic bingo but questioned whether it would be allowed under the conditions of the city's current ordinance.
Under the current regulations, bingo is limited to bona fide religious, educational, service, senior citizens, fraternal or veterans organizations. They must be nonprofit and exempt under Section 501c of the Internal Revenue Code, have a principal location and a continuous existence within the city limits for at least three years and owned or leased property inside the city for at least three years prior to making application for a permit.
The permit holder is limited to offering bingo one day a week with no session lasting more than five hours between the hours of 8 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. A permit holder is also not allowed to lend its name or its identity to be used by any other person in operating a bingo game, regardless of whether that person or organization is an auxiliary of the qualified organization or whether the permit holder is an auxiliary of that person or organization. Also, no person except an active member of the qualified organization or its auxiliary is permitted to assist in conducting any game of bingo.
An application for a bingo permit is submitted to the city clerk and brought before a Bingo Review Committee for consideration. The committee has the authority to approve or reject the application, In the event of disapproval, the applicant may appeal the decision to the city council, and ultimately to the Morgan County Circuit court and request a jury trial.
