Bingo Halls Struggling as Internet Gaming Gathers Pace

Competition in the business is fierce and the introduction of online bingo has put enormous pressure onto old fashioned bingo clubs which have seen a dramatic drop in business.

One of the casualties has been bingo charities which were raking in more than $250 million every year from the revenue generated by bingo halls. Around 3,000 charities still rely on bingo for some of their income.

Ontario has been one of the worst affected areas in Canada with only 70 remaining bingo halls out of 200.

"The industry has declined due to competing forms of entertainment and that's not only the rapid expansion of government gaming in the past 10 years - race tracks with slots, charity casinos, the large commercial casinos - but also other forms of entertainment that people have today, like movies and the internet, home theatre and that kind of thing," said Lynn Cassidy, the executive director of the Ontario Charitable Gaming Association.

"We need to update the whole industry, we need to modernize the industry," said Cassidy. "We're in a world of technology and we need to move forward that way."

For bingo players, the options available are very welcome. Sandra Heiffer, a retired chiropractor from Ontario, said: "Me and my friends always used to visit the bingo hall at least two or three times every week. We enjoyed the social aspect of it and it is always great fun playing a game of bingo.

"Now we have all discovered online bingo and several of us have accounts with Costa Bingo which is our favourite online site. We can all smoke as much as we want and we don't have to travel out into the cold. The online chat is fun and we can save money on drinks and transport. There are a lot of reasons to play at home, although I do miss meeting everyone at the club," she said

Canadian bingo operators are now looking at alternate ways to boost revenue and get bingo bums back on seats. Ontario has slowly increased its electronic bingo halls, and there are presently five eBingo gaming sites in the area, including both computerised and traditional bingo options. Both these options attract a younger audience with more male participants.

The industry is now pressing the government to broaden these types of bingo halls and allow them to include slot machines and other gaming technology.