Bingo is master in Georgia. Georgia is where Bingo came from in The US, way back in 1929. However in the years immediately after Bingo showed up (by way of Italy) at a county fair in Georgia, the game had been made illegal with most other forms of betting.
In 1976, Bingo was made legal for not for profit corporations. Since Bingo is 1 of just three styles of wagering legitimate in Georgia (along with raffles and also the state lotto), the game has turn out to be a big crowd pleaser.
There are well over 200 bingo operators in Georgia today. Georgians brought in above 35,000,000 dollars in profits for its Bingo providers in 2005, for an average of about $130,000 per provider. Georgians won over 20 million dollars in prizes during the same period. Georgian charities saw 1.5 million dollars in proceeds from the Bingo industry.
Georgia has some of the strictest bingo laws and regulations within the U.S. Operators are limited in the number of cash prizes they can pay at any 1 time. Games can hand out cash prizes with a $1,500 per session and three thousand dollars per week, which is far lower than the restrictions in specific states.
The GBI: Bingo Unit oversees bingo games in the state. During the last Twenty-five years, around 50 establishments have forfeited their permit in Georgia for repeated violations of the state wagering regulations. The result is that almost all bingo parlours in Georgia are V.F.W.s and assistance agencies, the kind of organizations which run a game to fund their non-profit activities.
Naturally, as long as bingo is a large cash venture, there will be people who discover a way to skirt the law. With 12,000 or more persons employed in the charitable betting sector of Georgia, the Bingo Unit is certain to be busy in the years to come.