Carson : Compromise on Bingo Law

After two years of trying to revise the city’s ordinance permitting bingo, the City Council introduced a measure Tuesday offering two key concessions to some of the city’s biggest bingo operators.

In place of an earlier proposal to restrict attendance to 100, city officials agreed to restrict the number attending to the maximum permitted by fire and safety regulations. Some bingo operators regularly stage games drawing more than 300 people.

The other change permits bingo operators to stay open 12 hours a week, the current limit, instead of the eight-hour limit that had been proposed.

City officials began to work on revising the bingo ordinance, which was passed to benefit churches and other charitable institutions, after receiving complaints that some bingo games had expanded until they resembled professional gambling halls. Others questioned whether the income was being used for charitable purposes.