Local News in Brief : L.A. Council OKs Tougher Bingo Law
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday tightened the city law governing bingo games to eliminate the profits of illegal game operators and enable charity groups to attract more players.
The council voted 10 to 1 to adopt rules that limit groups to three bingo nights a week with a maximum of 40 games and 350 players. The law becomes effective Aug. 1, 1989, for existing games and immediately for new operations.
“The existing bingo laws were really insufficient to provide us with the kind of paper trail (that could lead to a criminal case),” said Lt. Dan Jones of the Police Department’s administrative vice section.
The changes in the city regulations are aimed at getting rid of large bingo operations that claim to donate their profits to charity but actually keep the money in violation of the law. Such illegal “commercial gambling casinos” take players away from smaller bingo games operated by legitimate charity groups, Jones said.
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