Bringing bingo back to business

Non-profit bingo organization Bingo de la Presqu'Île in Vaudreuil-Dorion is extremely pleased with new provincial bingo legislation that came into effect Sunday, they said at a news conference last week. "We're very satisfied with what's going on," said Chantal Lavallée, director-general of the bingo club.

In essence, she said, the new legislation means the club can give out more cash per day in prizes, guaranteeing a total of $3,500 per night, as well as the possibility of winning $14, 500 per evening for customers.

In return for giving out larger sums of money to bingo players, clubs now have the right to charge more for tickets. In the case of Bingo de la Presqu'Île, Lavallée said the price of regular tickets is unlikely to change, but the organization may begin to charge more for tickets that may lead to special, larger prizes.

As Bingo de la Presqu'Île is non-profit, every cent it makes is poured back into the about 200 community organizations in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges area, said Lavallée, which means the groups should be able to see a vast increase in profits after some lean years due to severe anti-smoking legislation since 2006. "That affected us a lot," Lavallée said, adding a lot of their regular customers began to drive to Quebec reservations to play bingo after the anti-smoking laws hit, since they were not enforced so strongly there.

With these new rules also allowing for two late-night sessions per week, Lavallée said she is hoping Bingo de la Presqu'Île will both gain its older customers back and be able to attract a younger crowd as well. "We want to find a clientele that's in their 30s maybe," she said. Avid bingo gamers are now also able to get their hands on bingo machines for a rental fee of $2 a session. These small touch screen computers that hold virtual representations of numbered bingo cards which may be cycled through at will at the press of the screen. "Customers will be able to play with 'e-paper' or the traditional paper that they had before," Lavallée said.

With the machines being simple as they are, Lavallée said she did not expect too much trouble adapting for their usual, older customer base. However, the allure of technology should be able to lure youths in as well, she said.

Previously, these machines were not allowed in Quebec. "We want to come back to a clientele of 250 customers per night, which was the average participation before the anti-smoking law," said Daniel Bissonette, a member of the board for Bingo de la Presqu'Île. "With this new latitude in provincial legislation, we are somewhat catching up with the bingo legislation in the rest of Canada," he added.