L.A. Says Sorry, Permit Needed, and Hangs Up on Dial-a-Bingo

A bingo-by-telephone game, introduced in Los Angeles Monday, was discontinued Tuesday after city officials told its owner that he was violating a municipal ordinance by operating without a license.

The game, Dial-a-Bingo, was advertised with flyers containing game rules and nine bingo cards. It required players to call a “976” telephone number at a cost of $2 to obtain eight numbers. If a bingo resulted, the player would win $250.

If after a week a player had obtained all 24 numbers on that week’s card, he could win up to $1,500, said Tony Marino, owner of the Las Vegas company, United Telephone Communications Network, that operated the game.

There were no instant winners on the game’s first day, Marino said in a telephone interview. But he said initial response to the game was favorable, particularly from shut-ins, and he said he is confident that it will start up again as soon as legal problems are resolved.

However, Emma Weintraub, principal investigator of the city’s Social Services Department, which regulates bingo, said municipal law states that bingo can be played only for charity in Los Angeles.