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APRIL 2024

And They’re Off! Making Noise

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Dear Aunt Bingo,

My mother and I go to a Bingo hall in Illinois. The problem is this. While the last part of the Bingo game is going on, there are also people gambling on another game that is being run by some Bingo players there. As the Bingo numbers are being called, these women are yelling back and forth about their numbers coming in on this so-called “racing game.”

What I want to know is, isn’t this illegal? The people that run the hall don’t stop this and the yelling that goes on back and forth for the racing game is very disruptive to the other Bingo players. I was told the reason it goes on is that someone’s husband runs the place and it’s his wife that is doing this. Isn’t there something or someone that can do something about this?

—Lucille, via e-mail

 

Dear Lucille,

Technically speaking, any type of gambling that goes on in a Bingo hall that is not part of the sanctioned games is illegal. That would include a quick hand of poker during the break, someone selling chances for a sports pool, even someone betting someone else a $1 that they can’t hold their breath for two minutes. As long as a cash wager is involved, it constitutes gambling, and should not be taking place in a licensed Bingo hall.

I am not familiar with this “racing game” you are speaking of, and I am not clear on what sort of wagering is involved so I can’t speak to its legality in this particular hall. What I can say is that it sounds very annoying, especially if it is occurring during regular Bingo sessions, and would bug the heck out of me. —Aunt Bingo

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Share your views! Write to Aunt Bingo c/o the Bingo Bugle, P.O. Box 527, Vashon, WA 98070, or email her at tara@bingobugle.com. Be sure to include your name and address (you can request that your name not be published), as typically she will not include anonymous letters in her columns.

 

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