Kennedy Bingo Hall
1 of 25 Show More Show Less 2 of 25 Harris County DA Devon Anderson, speaks during a media conference at Paradise Bingo Hall,1520 College Ave., Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, in South Houston. Bingo Halls in John F Kennedy Airport on YP.com. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for the best Bingo Halls in John F Kennedy Airport, NY.
Charity bingo operators say their struggling operations may be pushed right out of business when Ontario's tough new anti-smoking law takes effect.
Bingo has long been a source of revenue for charities, but the industry has been in decline for the past 10 years.
Operators blame competition for gaming dollars from casinos, racetracks and slot machines for conditions that have seen about 140 bingo halls – more than half of the total in Ontario – close in the past 10 years.
Those now-shuttered bingo halls used to generate as much as $150 million a year for charities.
Kennedy Road Bingo Hall
The situation is only expected to get worse when the bingo halls are forced to tell their clients, an estimated 70 per cent of whom are smokers, to butt out.
Legislation passed at Queen's Park this week will outlaw smoking in most indoor public places.
- FROM JUNE 8, 2005: Ontario passes tough smoking restrictions
Those new restrictions, say bingo operators, could be the last nails in their coffins.
Privately owned bingo halls are typically run in co-operation with charities, with the profits shared between the owners and sponsors.
But as more casinos continue to pop up, Jim Towie of Kennedy Bingo says bingo operators are facing a 'disastrous' decline in customers.
For Towie's business, that situation will get worse next year when it will have to close its designated smoking room to comply with the new provincial rules.
Charities say more bingo hall closures will only make their fundraising that much tougher.
Kennedy Bingo Hall
The Toronto School of Art is one of 3,000 groups that have lost their bingo revenue over the last 10 years and are scrambling to find new sources of revenue.
Kennedy Crossing Bingo Hall
'It's very, very difficult, particularly for the organization I work with, which isn't a medical or child or people in crisis [organization],' said school spokesperson Shannon Shields.
'As government funding has decreased, every household is being asked eight ways to Sunday to donate money, so the competition is fierce.'
Kennedy Bingo Hall
Bingo operators have sought to remain competitive with casinos by applying for slot machine licences. So far, the province has turned down those requests.