A couple of years ago, when I was on hiatus from the General Assembly, I was at one of the local grocery stores and struck up a conversation with the clerk.  After saying that she recognized me, I suggested that maybe we had gone to school together or that we lived on the same end of the county – knowing full well that my picture had been in the local paper nearly every week during the previous six years as delegate.
 
Finally the woman snapped her fingers and said, ‘I’ve got it!  You work bingo sometimes up at the firehouse, don’t you?’
 

For those who play it and work it, bingo is serious business.  So serious that a former delegate from the 99th lost his re-election in large part due his opposition to ‘charitable gaming’.
 
Locally, we think of bingo as a small affair.  It’s conducted at the fire halls and perhaps at the local VFW.  However, elsewhere in Virginia, bingo is big business.  State law says that a charity must “benefit” from bingo, so bingo companies set up in abandoned shopping centers and get non-profits to “volunteer” for the night and benefit from the proceeds.
 
Charitable gaming was legalized in 1973, but it wasn’t until 1996 that the Commonwealth started implementing strict oversight of these practices.  This oversight sprung from the fact that there were a large number of abuses, including ‘shorting’ players on prize money, and shell corporations charging excessive rent to their bingo halls, which minimized profit and thus limited prize money.
 
It is with these big affairs in mind that the Department of Charitable Gaming Commission’s paperwork and regulations were created.  And for those of us who represent rural areas, this one-size-fits-all approach is burdensome and bureaucratic.  I have witnessed the paperwork required, and I find it mind-numbing and excessive for our local volunteer organizations.
 
It was for these reasons that I co-patroned HB2595 which raised the exemption level for non-profits to $40,000 annual gross income.  This helps reduce the paperwork, however, even a small volunteer fire department which holds weekly bingo games can exceed this level by a factor of five.
 
The biggest shortcoming, however, to HB2595 is that it addresses charitable gaming reform in a piece meal fashion.  Therefore, I was glad to see the creation of special subcommittees from the House and Senate charged with jointly examining Virginia’s charitable gaming legislation for more comprehensive reform.  Right now, their efforts are focused on gathering information from various stakeholders.  If you are interested in commenting, or even become involved in stakeholder meetings, contact Maria Everett, Senior Staff Attorney with Division of Legislative Services at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by calling 804.786.3591.
 
This comprehensive review of Virginia’s charitable gaming laws could finally give our local volunteer groups a real chance to shout, “BINGO!”