Scott Bramlett, of the Arkansas VFW, says the price of bingo cards at some locations might be a factor in attracting new players.
Bingo saved the American Legion post in Rogers, Barbara Aguirre said.
“We had $300 in our treasury and we were going to have to close the post,” said Aguirre, the commander of the William M. Batjer American Legion post in the Benton County city. “We didn’t have enough to pay our bills.”
So three years ago, the post started offering bingo, and the games took off.
Now its membership has grown by 50 to about 300, and Aguirre is in the process of getting a building permit from the city of Rogers to expand the post’s 1,500-SF building by about 2,000 SF.
But not all enterprises that offer bingo have a winning combination.
Adjutant Wally Rosier of American Legion Saxton-Willis Post in Heber Springs said he’s seen the number of bingo players slowly decline over the years. He blamed the economy and lottery sales for siphoning off bingo revenue.
In Arkansas, for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 78.8 million bingo “faces” —the individual game cards — were sold. That’s more than 25 for every man, woman and child in the state. But that figure is down 17.5 percent from the fiscal year that ended in June 2012, according to the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration.
The state collected $236,466 for the total number of bingo faces sold in the fiscal year that ended in June. That’s a decline of 2.8 percent from the previous year. Each bingo face is taxed at 3/10 of a cent.
Still, people aren’t ready to say that bingo’s days are numbered in the state.
“I don’t think it’s growing, but it’s not really dying either,” said Scott Bramlett of Clinton, a past state commander and the bingo chairman for the Department of Arkansas Veterans of Foreign Wars. “It just sort of ebbs and flows.”
(To see Arkansas bingo receipts from 2008 to 2015, go to By the Numbers: Gambling in Arkansas.)
Becoming Legal
In 2006, Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing charitable bingo and raffles in the state.
The bingo rules allow nonprofit and tax-exempt groups such as religious, educational, veterans and police organizations to obtain a license to operate bingo games.
All the net income generated at the bingo games, however, must go to charitable, religious or philanthropic purposes. The bingo sessions must end within five hours, and organizations can’t hold more than two sessions a week.
The number of licenses for bingo and raffles declined 3.6 percent to 479 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to the DF&A.
The Challenges
Bramlett, of the VFW, said one of the roadblocks to attracting new members is the price some locations charge to play. “If you play every game, you’re looking at around $50 a person,” he said. “A lot of people just don’t have that extra money.”
He said the main pack of bingo cards covers is $40 and has about 50 faces in it. Bramlett said there are special bingo games played throughout the night that cost $10 each.
It’s also difficult to lure people to bingo because it’s a game that’s perceived to be for seniors, said Doyle Bately, the adjutant for the American Legion Department of Arkansas. He said younger adults enjoy games that are faster.
Jerry Earnest, the post commander for the American Legion in El Dorado, said attendance at his post’s bingo games is down, noting that just over the state line in Louisiana, bingo is offered in electronic form — something that is not legal in Arkansas.
To cut expenses, Earnest said, about six years ago the El Dorado post reduced the bingo-playing nights from two to one. At that time, 70-80 people attended each night, for a weekly total of between 140-160 players. But after the games were cut to one night, the post saw 85-120 players.
Now, Earnest said, 90-100 players attend the Thursday games in El Dorado.
Bramlett said the VFW’s West Memphis location also used to be busy, “but it’s fallen off over there.” He said bingo players might have left the game to gamble at Southland Park Gaming & Racing in West Memphis, which features electronic games and greyhound racing.
Seeking Younger Players
To lure more people to bingo night, Earnest has encouraged players to bring their friends or neighbors. And a few years ago, the post offered rides to players, but that didn’t last long. “That got to where it was too cumbersome,” he said.
Other charities also are trying to attract younger players to bingo night.
Jonni Sims, the president of the American People Association of Springdale, said her organization has been running television commercials on a local station to interest people in playing bingo. Sims said the American People’s charitable activity involves helping children in foster care.
“We get new players all the time,” Sims said. “And there’s a lot of people that still don’t even know that we’re here.”
Aguirre, of the American Legion in Rogers, said she made a number of adjustments to boost attendance, and they have seemed successful. For example, she added early games, which start at 5 p.m. instead of 6 p.m.
“You have to be adaptable,” she said.
In addition, Aguirre said, her post offers different variations of bingo to keep players engaged. Those games range from blackout to corners to straight bingo.
“Our customers tell us, ‘This is boring or this is too hard,’” she said. “We listen to our customers.”
She said there are between 50 to 70 players that come each week. Her post charges players $20 for 18 games, which lasts a player through the Thursday night session, Aguirre said. That packet would contain 84 faces. She said that a player can’t buy just one game of bingo.
The revenue from the games, which includes special bingo games and food, is about $12,000 a month, Aguirre said, and the post returns 70 percent of its revenue to bingo winners, which usually is $40-$50 a game. The games generate the about $4,000 a month in income to the post. Bramlett, of the VFW, said some of its locations bring in a couple of thousand dollars a month, while others make a couple of hundred. The money raised in each location stays in that area and is used for charity, he said.
Aguirre’s son, who is a student at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, came to bingo nights during the summer and his friends tagged along. “They have a ball, and they bring other people in,” she said.
Still, it’s the older adults who enjoy playing bingo, because it’s a way for them to socialize with their friends.
“It’s kind of exciting to them,” Bately said. “Most of them can’t dance anymore; they can’t stand for long periods of time.” Instead, they sit with a number of the bingo cards in front of them “and one of those daubers and start daubing those numbers,” he said. “And hope to win a prize.”
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