North Bay charities that rely on bingo continue to face problems:

Local charities in North Bay are now finding the proposed hike in bingo licensing fees to hamper their funding. According to Grace Kingsnorth, a member of Widdifield Lions Club, the additional money they have to pay for fees for each session of bingo will reduce their earnings that are used to support various causes in the community.

 

An increase of $20 per session from the current $75 for a bingo license has been proposed from April 1. Another $20 increase is being considered for Jan. 1, 2009. The reason for the rise, according to Deputy Mayor, Peter Chirico is that the licensing fees for bingo haven’t been increased in 20 years.

 

The city needs to make up for its costs related to processing of licenses, which has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, with these increased fees. However the second increase won’t be implemented without consultation and if charity revenue reduces dramatically.

 

Moreover, the city’s licensing fees is much lower than most communities in Ontario. The city had actually thought of implementing the $40 hike at once, but was dropped when charities complained that the new revenue wouldn’t help them generate sufficient money as they had expected.

 

Moreover, the smoking ban in 2002 had also led to plummeting of bingo profits. This is why John Sevigny, president of the local charity bingo association says that they would prefer it if there wasn’t any price hike at all. He also understands that the prices haven’t been hiked for 20 years and that since then, administration costs have increased.

 

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