How to Run a Bingo Hall

Bingo Journal

Running a bingo hall can be a fulfilling and rewarding career. It is a job that allows you to provide an entertaining escape to your customers as you earn money. For some of those customers, you’ll even put a little extra cash in their pocket. There are special license requirements that can make starting your bingo hall a complicated process, but once everything is up and running, you’ll have smooth sailing and an enjoyable career where you get to see people having a great time.

Instructions

1. Obtain a bingo license. This is easier said than done. In some states, bingo is considered a game of chance and is under the jurisdiction of the Gaming Control Board (or equivalent). Other states only allow bingo for charitable purposes, with games held by non-profit organizations. Some states do not allow any form of bingo at all. Contact the Attorney General’s office in the state where you wish to operate, and ask them what steps must be taken to obtain a license to run a bingo hall.

2. Find a suitable location for your bingo hall. You will need to find a building that has a large open room, capable of holding several rows of fold-up tables. The more seating space the better, since this increases your potential customer count, which increases the amount of money you can make. It is also ideal for the location to have a place to build a concession stand and to have some form of child care on the premises.

3. Hire people to work at your bingo hall. You will need to hire a “bingo caller,” who retrieves the balls and calls out the numbers. You will need to hire floor personnel to collect money, verify winning cards and to pay winnings. You will also need people to work in the concession and child care sections, if they are available, as well as to have at least one security guard on staff.

4. Buy the supplies that are necessary to run your bingo equipment. You will need a set of bingo balls and a blower. You will also need a display board; perhaps even more than one if you have an exceptionally large bingo hall. You will also need cards, and if you use paper cards you will need daubers. There is also, hopefully, a concession stand that needs to be stocked. Make a detailed list of all the equipment and supplies you will need.

5. Research when other bingo games are held in the area. In many places, you will have local charity bingo games held by various lodges and church groups. Try to avoid scheduling your bingo games on the same nights as these events. It is not only a professional courtesy, but will prevent both of you from restricting your potential by splitting the customer pool. Being the only bingo hall open on your night ensures that you will have 100% of the bingo customers that night.

6. Decide what bingo games you will offer. There are a number of variations of bingo. There are diagonal bingo, four corners, picture frame, black out and more. A good bingo hall carries a mix of these games over the course of the night to keep the game interesting. It is generally a good idea to hold your black out games towards the end of the night, with these games also being worth the higher prize pool of the night.

7. Advertise your bingo hall, particularly the grand opening. There may be local restrictions on advertising as well, but in most cases you can carry newspaper advertisements and local radio spots. These are the best method of getting the word out to a local audience and are usually sufficient to attract a crowd.

Tips & Warnings

• There may sometimes be local restrictions on how much prize money can be awarded during a game or over the course of the night. Seek clarification on this from your state Attorney General’s office or City Clerk’s office.

Resources

• Quality Bingo Supply Company
• Ziggos Bingo Supplies