Local News in Brief : Bingo License Moratorium

A 90-day moratorium on city-issued bingo licenses was approved unanimously Monday by the Los Angeles City Council’s Police, Fire and Public Safety Committee to give committee members more time to draw up a bingo reform ordinance for consideration by the full council.

Councilman Richard Alatorre said the moratorium will act “as a safeguard to see that the large (non-charity) organizations set up for the purpose of making money” do not get licenses until the city can enact reforms aimed at reducing the chances of skimming, cheating and other fraud.

Alatorre and other members of the committee, indicating that they were concerned about the lack of controls over bingo groups, said they hope eventually to require all bingo operators to keep track of their sales receipts. Alatorre said he also hopes to enact rules that would prevent profit-oriented bingo firms from opening large bingo halls, operating several times a week, that drive smaller charitable groups out of business.

According to city officials, bingo groups in Los Angeles had between $45 million and $50 million in revenues last year, but less than $5 million went into charitable service programs. The rest was paid to winners or was used to cover operating expenses. City officials expressed concern about possible skimming, noting that some of the revenues cannot be accounted for.