Free Bingo

Rules and how to play Free bingo, number calling, and online free bingo:

Free bingo is played in halls. Free bingo rules and payouts and play variations vary from place to place. Free bingo brochures detailing particular games, rules and payouts are usually available at each respective location.

Basically, players buy cards with numbers on them in a 5 x 5 grid corresponding to the five letters in the word B-I-N-G-O. Numbers such as B-2 or 0-68 are then drawn at random (out of a possible 75 in American Free bingo, and 90 in British and Australian Free bingo) until one player completes a 'Free bingo' pattern, such as a line with five numbers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row on one of their cards and wins the prize. There are many possible patterns to play for.

A free bingo Card contains 24 numbered spaces and one free space (blank), with which you play FREE BINGO. The numbers are assigned at random on each card and are arranged in five columns of five numbers each by five rows (5 x 5 = 25 in total including the blank square).

The numbers in the B column are between 1 and 15, in the I column between 16 and 30, in the N column (containing four numbers and the free space) between 31 and 45, in the G column between 46 and 60, and in the O column between 61 and 75.

Players have thousands of unique (unduplicated) cards to choose from. Some manufacturers print unduplicated series of 6,000 cards. There are also series of 9,000 cards available. Hard cards and Flimsy cards have a series number printed on them. For example, card number 1252 will always have the same numbers in the same spaces.

Free bingo in the United Kingdom and Australia

In the U.K. Free bingo is played mainly in large halls with cash prizes, the larger commercial concerns are linked up with other halls during one particular game in the evening and large cash sums can be won on these.

It is also played in nearly every seaside town in the U.K. on screens in front of the player who pulls a slide across to cover the number called, but, presumably because of our gambling laws, there are no cash prizes, just various items like cuddly toys.

The other times Free bingo is played, again for prizes, not cash, is in a myriad of local halls or schools around the country, usually as a fund raiser for various concerns like an old people’s Day Centre. Here the prizes are donated by shopkeepers and businesses in the town and surrounding area and the atmosphere at these Free bingo games is usually very relaxed and a fun evening out where everyone is welcome, even children.

The prizes vary for these games but on average a prize for any one line is worth about £1.00 - £2.50 (depending on who is organizing the free bingo evening), any 2 lines would be worth about £2 - £5 and a full house (all the numbers on a card) worth £5 - £10. They could be boxes of chocolates, bottles of wine, a grocery hamper, a voucher from a local butcher for meat or a cream tea for two at a local tea-shop or even 2 free passes to a swimming pool. Anything really.

U.K. (and Australian) free bingo cards have three lines and nine columns (see picture above) and usually come in "Books"; single or multiple. A single book would contain ten 10 pages (10 cards) each of a different color: Gold, Lime, Violet, Yellow, Pink, Grey, Orange, Blue, Red and White.

A multiple book has 6 single books. Each page in a multiple book has 6 cards of the same color. The 6 cards on a page are joined with perforated edges and can be pulled apart. Experienced players will play all 6 books and inexperienced players or young children may only play 1 book, or even a single card.

As well as books, there are also single sheets of free bingo cards sold with the 6 sections on (six cards) and these are called "Flyers". Again you can buy just one section or 6 to suit your pocket or your experience. The flyers cost more per game than on the books but the prizes are usually worth a bit more.

In the large towns and cities free bingo is fairly "big business" and people play in deadly earnest, hoping to win that elusive jackpot. In small towns and villages it’s much more of a social occasion with amateur callers and a lot lighter atmosphere.

Australia uses the same free bingo cards as in the U.K. In Sydney and Melbourne the callers are incredibly fast. In Perth they call a lot slower.

Number calling

The numbers are announced quickly by the Caller, so you must pay careful attention to the numbers that are called and mark them quickly and accurately on your card(s).

The caller keeps calling numbers until one or more players claim FREE BINGO. Then the game stops and the numbers are verified. If there is a winner, the prize is awarded and a new free bingo game begins with new cards. If there is more than one winner, the prize is split among all the winners.

In Las Vegas many variations including Letter X, Six Pack and Coverall Free bingo are offered. Additionally, some places offer special progressive payouts as high as $10,000.

Online Free bingo

When playing online, your free bingo cards are randomly selected for you. Most online games give you 3 or 4 cards. Other games let you take more.

Every online free bingo game has a caller or a display board for the free bingo numbers. The game pattern is also displayed. Some games automatically mark the numbers on your card for you.

Free bingo glossary

• Admission - To be eligible to enter a free bingo hall and/or participate in a free bingo game.
• Admission Packet - A minimum number of cards that you must purchase as the price of admission. Typically you must purchase an Admission Packet, which usually contains three to six card for every regular game, and may also contain some special games. Exactly what is part of the Admission Packet varies from hall to hall.
• After Game - The game played after the end of a regular session of play.
• Ball Gate - Part of the ball dispensing machine, the one-way flap at the top of the 'ball runway' which the ball passes under to enter the main playfield area.
• Ball Lifter - The mechanism used to raise the ball from beneath the playfield to the 'ball shooter' tip.
• Ball Runway - The channel where the ball is launched up by the ball shooter to enter the main playfield area.
• Ball Shooter - The spring loaded plunger with a rubber tip used to launch the ball into the playfield area.
• Basket Free bingo - Free bingo game where "basket" prizes are given
• Free bingo Board - A display board, usually electronic that lights up showing each number as it is called.
• Free bingo Books/Booklets - A number of different colored free bingo sheets/cards bound together to form a book/booklet to be played one for each game at a free bingo session. They are usually bound in the order in which they will be played.
• Free bingo Card - A card containing 24 numbered spaces and one free space (blank), with which you play FREE BINGO. The numbers are assigned at random on each card and are arranged in five columns of five numbers each by five rows (5 x 5 = 25 in total including the blank square). The numbers in the B column are between 1 and 15, in the I column between 16 and 30, in the N column (containing four numbers and the free space) between 31 and 45, in the G column between 46 and 60, and in the O column between 61 and 75. Players have thousands of unique (unduplicated) cards to choose from. Some manufacturers print unduplicated series of 6,000 cards. There are also series of 9,000 cards available. Hard cards and Flimsy cards have a series number printed on them. For example, card number 1252 will always have the same numbers in the same spaces.
• Free bingo Marker - A crayon or ink dauber that is used to cover the numbers on a free bingo game card.
• Blackout - (Also, Coverall) A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win. Usually 50 to 60 of the 75 free bingo numbers have to be called to cover all the numbers on a card. But blackouts in as few as 43 numbers have been recorded.
• Blower - A forced-air device that mixes the free bingo balls and dispenses them to the caller who announces the number and displays it on a free bingo board.
• Bonanza Free bingo - A progressive coverall Jackpot that is usually played as the 13th game of the session. Forty-five numbers are drawn before the session and players mark them on separate cards and set aside. There is an additional fee to play this game, usually $1. The countdown begins at 48 numbers or less and goes up one number per week to 52 numbers or until won. The amount of the jackpot is determined by card sales for that game.
• Break open - A multi-ply card, made completely from paper or paper products, with perforated break open tab or tabs. The game play area of the card is covered to conceal a number(s), letter(s) and/or symbol(s); some of which have been designated in advance as prize winners.
• Buy-in - Buying free bingo cards or an Admission Packet (see above). Converting cash into free bingo cards.
• Caller - The person who calls out the free bingo numbers as they are drawn.
• Cash-In-Prize - A form of free bingo where the prize is a cash payout. This is taken from the money paid in.
• Casino Night (Also, Vegas Night) - An event held for a specific period of time (generally beginning in the afternoon and ending by midnight) during which a qualified organization is entitled to hold casino-style gaming events. Games conducted include: Pull tabs, free bingo, roulette, blackjack, poker, craps, gin rummy, five card stud poker, and merchandise wheels.
• Chat Room - A handy monitor or screen where you can read and exchange messages with other players.
• Consolation Prize - The prize or prizes offered on some special games if there is no winner in a predetermined number of calls.
• Coverall - (Also Blackout) A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win.
• Dauber - Free bingo dauber is ink-filled bottle/pen with a foam tip on it used to mark called numbers. When you touch the free bingo card with the foam tip it marks the square. (See picture above)
• Early Bird Game - A free bingo game that starts earlier than another regularly scheduled game. But sometimes the Early Bird game is merely the first game of the session. The first game of a session is more commonly known as a Warm Up.
• Face - Is the individual free bingo sheet containing 24 numbers plus the free space in the middle.
• Flimsy, Flimsies - Free bingo cards printed on thin sheets of paper. There are usually three cards printed on a single sheet but flimsies are also printed in one, two, four, six or 9-card formats. Typically a flimsy sheet costs one or two dollars and a win on a flimsy on a special game usually pays quite a bit more than a win on a regular game. Also called 'Throwaways' in some areas.
• Four Corners - A pattern where you must cover the corner numbers of the card. If you get those four numbers, you win.
• Free Space - The center square of the card, which does not have a number assigned to it. It's like a Joker or a Wild square. You get it free every game and it counts towards your winning pattern.
• Game Board, Game board - An electronic display that is attached to the free bingo board to show the pattern needed to win that particular game. It looks like a free bingo card and shows what variation of free bingo you are playing on that particular game on the program. For example: four corners, chevron, regular, blackout, etc.
• Game Room - Some online games divide the players into game rooms.
• G.T.I., T.E.D. - An electronic dauber system used to play multiple packs at once. These usually require a rental fee and only one is allowed per player.
• Hard Card - A free bingo card printed on heavy cardboard material usually with shutters to cover each number as it is called out.
• Hard way Free bingo (Hard-way Free bingo) - Free bingo in a straight line without the use of the free space.
• House - A casino or gambling center/centre or a gambling hall/property. Also the property owners or the operators of a gambling game, such as Free bingo.
• Inlaid Card - A pre-printed card, usually in 4x4 format laid into a table, and black discs are used to cover the numbers as they are called out.
• Instant Free bingo - A break open ticket which contains the letters B I N G O, free bingo card faces, free bingo numbers, and no other symbols. Winning tickets may incorporate letters spelling the word B-I-N-G-O, or contain a complete pre-designated free bingo pattern, i.e., vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line.
• Jackpot - A big prize usually awarded for achieving a difficult pattern, such as a blackout, within a specified number of balls.
• Late Night Free bingo (Also, Moonlight Free bingo) - Session of free bingo that starts late at night, usually about 10:00 pm.
• Lucky Jar (or Cookie Jar) - A container with cash. You win the contents of the lucky jar if you free bingo on the lucky number. The lucky number is usually the first number called at the beginning of a session. Money is added to the jar every time the lucky number is called or if the caller makes a mistake in announcing the game. Usually you can win the lucky jar only on regular games. There is no lucky number in play on special throw-away games.
• Main Stage Free bingo - The main event of a session of free bingo, and the one said to draw the most customers.
• Minimum Buy-in - The least amount you must spend to be eligible for prizes.
• Moonlight Free bingo - Session of free bingo that starts late at night, usually about 10:00 pm.
• Money Ball - A number drawn before the game that will double a player's winnings if free bingo is hit on that number.
• Multiple Winners - Two or more players free bingo at the same time. When this happens, the cash prize is divided among them. For example, if there are five winners on a $500 game, they each receive $100.
• Mushroom - A group of free bingo displays which takes its name from its shape - it has a narrow tubular base, and a wider head with the machinery used to play the game and collect money from players. Customers sit around the mushroom to play, and there are usually 6 to 8 positions at each.
• On - A player is said to be On when one or more cards they are playing lacks only one number for a free bingo.
• On The Way - The game played on the way to the blackout game. It is played prior to the blackout on the same card. First the preliminary game(s) are played and then more numbers are called until there is a blackout.
• Pattern - The shape you need to cover on your card with called out numbers, usually it is in a straight line; horizontal, vertical and diagonal.
• Party - Short for participation free bingo, a type of slot free bingo or cash free bingo where the prize is cash and depends on the number of players, since the cash prize is at least 50% of the money paid in. The most common boards used for party free bingo are inlaid cards and hand-held shutter boards.
• Payout - The percentage of sales paid out by the House. The average payout among all free bingo halls is approximately 75 percent. This compares with a payout of approximately 45 percent on state lottery games.
• Postage Stamp Pattern - Matching four numbers to form a postage stamp (a 2 x 2 grid) in any of the four corners.
• Prize Free bingo - Until recently, this game was only played for a set prize or vouchers. Recent changes in UK law mean that now the prize may be cash of up to £15.
• Progressive Jackpot - A Jackpot that gets bigger until it is won. It builds daily, weekly, or monthly if it is not won in a specific number of calls. If there is no winner in X number of calls, consolation prize(s) of lesser dollar amounts are paid. Different variations of progressive games add dollars or numbers, or both, to the jackpot. There is usually a separate buy-in for Progressive Jackpot games.
• Rainbow Pack - A paper pack that allows players to play for three or four different prize denominations at once.
• Reno Night - An evening of casino games like blackjack and roulette. These are sometimes held in free bingo halls but more often in restaurants and hotels, Eagles & Elks clubs and other fraternal organizations.
• RNG - Random Number Generator; the machine used to pick the numbers for a game of free bingo. Most are electronic.
• Serial Number - The minimum five-character number printed by a manufacturer on each set of charity game tickets/cards. Each ticket in a set contains the same serial number.
• Series - Indicates the number of unique faces that a single set will contain. For example: a 9000 Series has 9000 unique faces.
• Session - An entire evening or daytime program of free bingo consisting of regular games usually played on hard cards and special games played on throwaways, flimsies or paper sheets. A session usually lasts somewhere between two and a half hours and three hours and 15 minutes.
• Shutter Board - A hand-held re-usable plastic board with pre-printed numbers, usually in a 4x4 format. These numbers are marked off by closing shutters over them.
• Six-pack, Nine-pack - Six or nine numbers in a block on one cards.
• Special - Games that usually are played with a different set of cards than the pack purchased at admission.
• Speed Free bingo - A variation of regular free bingo. Numbers are called very quickly and you can free bingo in as few as three numbers. Usually played before or after a regular session.
• Speed game, Speed Game - A coverall that is called very quickly. It is sold as a special game one card at a time.
• Split Pot - A free bingo game in which the winner splits the sales of the game (the pot) with the free bingo hall or House. For example, the winner might get 60 percent of the sales and the house would keep forty percent.
• Table Board Free bingo - Table Board Free bingo is a lottery scheme where players purchase the Table Board card and win prizes by being the first to complete specified arrangements or patterns of numbers on the Table Board Free bingo device from numbers selected at random. A Table Board Free bingo event can be held in conjunction with a Regular Free bingo event and where the Table Board Free bingo prizes are in addition to the maximum Regular Free bingo prize board.
• T.E.D., G.T.I. - An electronic dauber system used to play multiple packs at once. These usually require a rental fee and only one is allowed per player.
• Texas Blackout - A variation of free bingo. The first number called will be either odd or even. If the first number called is Even then all the even numbers on all your cards are Wild (Jokers). Cover all the even numbers. If the first number called is Odd, cover all the odd numbers. The game then proceeds to a blackout.
• Throwaways - See Flimsies above.
• Tickets - These are printed pages on which the main stage free bingo is played. They are laid out in grids, and normally come in books. Some tickets have bar-codes which describe the numbers on them and are used to help check claims.
• Validation - Eligibility required to win additional jackpot amounts. Price varies by number of cards played.
• Vegas Night - See Casino Night, above.
• VFW or V.F.W. - Veterans of Foreign Wars (re: Free bingo Halls)
• Wild Number - Usually played on a double free bingo that leads into a triple free bingo. The first number out of the hopper determines the wild number; for example, if 42 is drawn, all numbers ending in 2 should be marked off.

Wrap Up - The name of the last game of a session.

Free bingo nicknames

Free bingo numbers-calling nicknames:

The list below shows the nickname of each free bingo number with variants. Remember that no list is definitive and some nicknames may not make sense. If you are planning to make up a list of nicknames for use in a free bingo hall or at home, choose the ones that most appeal to you.

Free bingo play using nicknames persisted in British Free bingo halls until faster computer draws replaced air-blown balls. This is a way of announcing or repeating the Free bingo number drawn in a humorous way. In a crowded, noisy room, it also helps to confirm the number called.

The free bingo game starts with the traditional call to attention: "Eyes Down".

1 .... Kelly's eye, Buttered scone, At the beginning, Little Jimmy, Nelson's column, B1 Baby of free bingo
2.... One little duck, Baby's done it, Doctor who, Me and you, Little boy blue
3.... Dearie me, I'm free, Debbie McGee, You and me, Goodness me, One little flea, Cup of tea
4.... The one next door, On the floor, Knock at the door, B4 Crowd says "and after", Bobby Moore
5.... Man alive, Jack's alive, One little snake
6.... Tom Mix, Tom's tricks, Chopsticks
7.... Lucky seven, God's in heaven, One little crutch
8.... Garden gate, Golden gate, At the gate, Harry Tate, One fat lady, She's always late, Sexy Kate, Is she in yet
9.... Doctor's orders (?)
10.. Downing street (?) , Cock and hen (rhyming), Uncle Ben (rhyming), Tony's Den
11.. Legs eleven, Legs - they're lovely, Kelly's legs number eleven, Chicken legs
12.. One dozen, One and two - a dozen, Monkey's cousin (rhymes with "a dozen"), One doz' if one can
13.. Unlucky for some, Devil's number, Bakers dozen
14.. Valentines day
15.. Rugby team, Young and keen
16.. Sweet sixteen, She’s lovely, Never been kissed
17.. Often been kissed, Old Ireland, Dancing queen, The age to catch ‘em, Posh and Becks
18.. Key of the door, Now you can vote, Coming of age
19.. Goodbye teens
20.. One score, Getting plenty, Blind 20
21.. Royal salute, Key of the door, If only I was..
22.. Quack quack, Two little ducks (suggesting the necks of two swans), Ducks on a pond, Dinky doo, All the twos, Bishop Desmond, Put your 22's on, Too[t] too[t] (train whistle)
23.. A duck and a Flea, Thee and me, The Lord's my Shepherd (based on 23rd Psalm)
24.. Two dozen, Did you score?, Do you want some more?
25.. Duck and dive
26.. Bed and breakfast (traditional price was 2 shillings 6 pence), Half a crown (equivalent to 2 shillings 6 pence), Pick and mix
27.. Little duck with a crutch, Gateway to heaven
28.. In a state, The old brags, Over weight, Duck & its mate
29.. You’re doing fine, In your prime, Rise and shine
30.. Burlington Bertie, Dirty Gertie, Speed limit (in built-up area, UK), Blind 30, Flirty thirty, Your face is dirty
31.. Get up and run
32.. Buckle my Shoe
33.. Dirty knees, All the feathers, All the threes, Gertie Lee, Two little fleas, Sherwood forest (all the trees)
34.. Ask for more
35.. Jump and jive
36.. Three dozen
37.. A flea in heaven, More than eleven
38.. Christmas cake
39.. Those famous steps, All the steps
40.. Two score, Life begins at, Blind 40, Naughty 40
41.. Life’s begun, Time for fun
42.. That famous street in Manhattan, Whinny the Poo
43.. Down on your knees
44.. Droopy drawers, All the fours, Open two doors
45.. Halfway house, Halfway there, Cowboy's friend
46.. Up to tricks
47.. Four and seven
48.. Four dozen
49.. PC (Police Constable), Copper, Nick nick, Rise and shine
50.. Bulls eye, Bung hole, Blind 50, Half a century, Snow White's number (five-oh, five-oh..), Hawaii five O
51.. I love my mum, Tweak of the thumb, The Highland Div[ision]
52.. Weeks in a year, The Lowland Div[ision], Danny La Rue
53.. Stuck in the tree, The Welsh Div[ision]
54.. Clean the floor, House of bamboo (famous song)
55.. Snakes alive, All the fives, Double nickels, Give us fives, Bunch of fives
56.. Was she worth it?
57.. Heinz varieties, All the beans (Heinz 57 varieties of canned beans)
58.. Make them wait, Choo choo Thomas
59.. Brighton line (engine 59)
60.. Three score, Blind 60, Five dozen
61.. Bakers bun
62.. Tickety boo, Turn on the screw
63.. Tickle me
64.. The Beatles number, Red raw
65.. Old age pension, Stop work (retirement age)
66.. Clickety click, All the sixes
67.. Made in heaven, Argumentative number
68.. Saving grace
69.. The same both ways, your place or mine?, Any way up, Either way up, Any way round, Meal for two, The French connection
70.. Three score and ten, Blind 70
71.. Bang on the drum
72.. A crutch and a duck, Six dozen, Par for the course (golf)
73.. Crutch with a flea, Queen B, Under the tree
74.. Candy store
75.. Strive and strive, Big Daddy
76.. Trombones, Seven 'n' six - was she worth it? (?)
77.. Sunset strip, All the sevens, Two little crutches
78.. Heavens gate
79.. One more time
80.. Gandhi's breakfast, Blind 80, Eight and blank, There you go matey
81.. Fat lady and a little wee, Stop and run
82.. Fat lady with a duck, Straight on through
83.. Fat lady with a flea, Time for tea, Ethel's Ear
84.. Seven dozen
85.. Staying alive
86.. Between the sticks
87.. Fat lady with a crutch, Torquay in Devon
88.. Two fat ladies, Wobbly wobbly, All the eights
89.. Nearly there, All but one
90.. Top of the shop, Top of the house, Blind 90, As far as we go, End of the line

(?) Explanations of some nicknames:

9 Doctor's orders
Apparently in the second world war in Britain doctors wrote on sick notes a 9 p.m curfew , thus if patients were found out of their homes after that time they were violating their sick note. (Provided by a visitor)

10. Downing Street
UK Prime Minister's address, Downing Street.

76 Seven 'n' six - was she worth it?
(The price of the marriage license is seven shillings and six pence).

Free bingo tips

Free bingo tips:

There is very little you can do to influence or predict the outcome at Free bingo. Free bingo is a game of luck and is played primarily for fun. However, below are some useful tips submitted by visitors.

Free bingo tips submitted by visitors

• Never play more cards than you can watch be careful of "play all you want for $" you'll end up going nuts trying to watch all your cards!!!
• Never bang while you are dabbing, dabbers work better if you dab lightly. If you bang hard chances is your dabber will leak. - Submitted by avid player.
• Paper cards with lower card numbers (free space #) tend to have the numbers closer together card #1 (B-1, 2, 3, 4 & 5; I-16, 17, 18, 19 & 20). Longer games like Coveralls tend to draw numbers in sperts close together. 16 17 then 19 and 20 come out. To win more coveralls, try to come in early and get the first set of paper cards issued. On big nights managers stock the counter with plenty cards usually the ones on top are the lowest free space number cards. Check the next coverall for yourself. Notice the flashboard. Lighted up numbers usually in sets by the 30’Th number called. - Submitted by: Chris Dudak Free bingo Manager Extraordinaire!
• Be courteous to those around you. Do not yell out loud the number you need!
• Burning the number (on paper cards) does not mean that it will come out the next time.
• Buy a card for a neighbor once a night. You never know when you will want one more game when your wallet says it's time to go!
• Share the wealth when you win. Toss out a lucky dollar to those around you when you win. If they win a larger jackpot, they could return the lucky dollar (ten fold)! Especially if they win with your lucky dollar!
• If you want to win at free bingo. Play free bingo on nights that are generally slower for the operators (Monday - Thursday usually less players than weekends). Being a game of chance if there are fewer players then there are fewer cards in play. If you have as many cards as you can comfortably play and there are fewer cards in play, due to lower crowds, then you have a larger percent of cards in play. Odds in your favor? I think so! Especially if the hall you play at offers electronic free bingo (computer free bingo) and you have 2 or 3 cards per game.

Free bingo strategy

How to win at free bingo: (Strategy, plan, tactics, method, system, technique.)

There is very little you can do to influence or predict the outcome at free bingo. Free bingo is a game of luck and is played primarily for fun.

Gambling addicts prefer free bingo to support

Psychologists and support groups who treat compulsive gamblers in Brazil say they've run out of patients since the country's free bingo halls reopened.

Thousands of people asked for help to treat their gambling addictions after Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva closed down free bingo halls in February.

But now the law has been repealed and the free bingo halls have opened their doors again, reports Agora newspaper.

However, experts are concerned that people who need help have given up treatment and are instead feeding their addictions.

Two support groups that used to meet every week at the Federal University of Sao Paulo have been cancelled because nobody showed up.

Psychologist Juliana Bizeto said: "Everybody discussed the political side of whether or not the free bingo halls should be allowed to operate but everyone forgot to think about the health of the gamblers."

News

JOY AS FREE BINGO PLANS BINNED

21 May 2004

FREE BINGO hall plans for More ton Hall have been binned – and residents are now celebrating a victory.

Residents had been bracing themselves for the worst – and some were even preparing to move house – after an appeal to use a site in Barton Road, Bury St Edmunds, as a 600-seater free bingo hall was launched in September.
St Edmunds bury Borough Council had agreed to development on the site but rejected an application for change of use and site owner Terry Sprigging then appealed
There was a 154-strong petition against the plans but Branchland Free bingo, which wanted to move from Hatter Street to the new site, claimed that 500 supported the proposal.
Now, the council's view has been backed by a planning inspector who rejected the appeal.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr. Sprigging said it was the first he had heard of the decision.
"I am disappointed and very surprised to be quite honest because I felt we had a good chance of winning.
"If what you say is correct and we have lost the appeal, that is it and we will just have to give up the idea of a free bingo hall and proceed with other things," he said.
He added he had already decided to carry on with plans to develop and let shop units on the site – for which he has permission.
Planning inspector Peter Jamieson said in his report: "The town centre should, in my view, be the first option for the sitting of a free bingo hall, where accessibility by all transport modes is best satisfied and where multiple-use trips can be encouraged."
He said the council had suggested Station Hill and Tailfin Road as alternative sites.
Jean Handel, from Leominster Close near to the development site, said: "This is excellent news. We've lived here 15 years and we had been considering moving if this went ahead, as had a couple of our neighbors.
"We are very pleased and happy that we will be staying where we are."
Ward Caller Trevor Beckwith said: "This is absolutely great.
"This is a victory for the residents."
Caller Terry Buckle said: "I am pleased about this for all the residents. I'm not opposed to a free bingo hall but this simply is the wrong site."
And fellow ward councilor Frank Wary said: "Common sense has prevailed.
"It is a good result for the people who live in the area."

Federal judge delays free bingo sentencings

YOUNGSTOWN - Sentencing for four defendants convicted for their roles in Akron-area illegal instant-free bingo operations were delayed Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Peter Economies put off sentencing for Brett Simons, Dona Bush, Chad Bush and Vicki Lush until he determines at what level they should be sentenced.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, levels are assigned to those convicted of crimes. The higher level, the longer the sentence.

Earlier this week, Economies took similar action in delaying the sentencing of the lead defendant in the case, Chester L. ``Chet'' Simons.

Creeks, happy with free bingo defeat, seek compact with Alabama

By GARRY MITCHELL
Associated Press Writer
MOBILE, Ala. -- The Poach Band of Creek Indians, happy with the defeat of high-stakes free bingo legislation that threatened tribal profits, is stepping up efforts to get a gaming compact with the state by offering to share revenues.

Approval of the dog track owners' free bingo bill could have threatened the tribe's plan for a $120 million Harrah's hotel and convention center at Wetumpka, Poach chairman Eddie Tulles said.

A compact with Alabama's only federally recognized tribe could bring the state anywhere from 17 percent to 28 percent of revenue from high-stakes casino games allowed under the pact, said tribe attorney Mays Jemison of Montgomery.

"Every compact is different," Jemison said, explaining the wide revenue range.

Republican Gov. Bob Riley has opposed any gambling measure as a matter of principle and that includes any Indian gaming compact, Riley communications director, Jeff Emerson, said Thursday.

"He has no plans to try to negotiate any compact that would expand gambling. He doesn't believe gambling revenue is the proper way to fund government services," Emerson said.

Nevertheless, Jemison said, "We want to do what we can to get the governor to sit down and talk to us. There's no question if 33 states have compacts, it would be to Alabama's advantage."

"We are a sovereign nation. What Mr. Tulles wants to do is share revenue under a compact," Jemison said.

The free bingo measure turned back in the Legislature, which ended its regular session Monday, would have provided the state with 16 percent of net profits raised from allowing electronic free bingo games and unlimited cash prizes at four dog tracks. The money, an estimated $90 million to $100 million, would have been used for textbooks and Medicaid-funded nursing home beds.

The dog tracks in Macon and Greene counties already have high-stakes free bingo through constitutional amendments approved by voters in those counties last year. The games - both group games and individual electronic machines - are not taxed, but the tracks do make donations to charity. The tracks in Birmingham and Mobile County do not have free bingo.

Tulles, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from his office near Atmore, said the defeat of the bill is unlikely to deter dog track owners.

He said it required lobbying to keep the bill from "totally destroying" the revenue stream for the Poach tribe, which has electronic gaming operations at the reservation near Atmore

Free bingo at the Cliff canceled

By Katie Worth

Pacific Daily News

There will be no more free bingo at the Cliff Hotel for a while.

The Males so Choir Association has been ordered to shut down its free bingo operations at the hotel until it can sort out its tax troubles, said John Camacho, deputy director of the Department of Revenue and Taxation.

It's not the first time the nonprofit organization has been in trouble with the Department of Revenue and Taxation. Last year, the department suspended its license after it failed to file detailed nonprofit financial disclosure statements for several years.

The operation was allowed to reopen in July 2002, on the condition that its management hire an accountant and take other measures to ensure compliance with tax regulations. The free bingo operator also was required to begin making payments toward the $400,000 it owed the government in taxes.

However, the association has been given "sufficient time" to comply with the conditions and they have yet to produce some of the required documents, Camacho said.

Males so Choir Association President Kenneth Reyes said the problem appeared to be caused by "communication problems" between the organization's attorney, its accountant and its organizers.

Reyes said he had been under the impression that everything was being taken care of until April, when he received a letter dated January from Rev and Tax indicating that the organization had to meet an April 30 deadline to produce the documents.

"No red flags were being raised that we were not meeting some of the obligations we were required to meet, so I didn't realize that was happening until April when it was too late," he said.

Reyes said the organization will try to sort out what happened with its accountant and attorney.

"I don't want to shift the blame on anyone because the ultimate responsibility is still ours," he said. "However, we felt that because we hired professional people to help us, we thought that everything was OK. We don't know what happened between the people we hired to help us and ourselves and the Department of Revenue and Taxation. ... I believe a major communication problem was occurring."

He said that of the $400,000 the organization owed Rev and Tax, it had paid $324,000 to date.

When asked when the organization will reopen its free bingo operations, Reyes said he was unsure. He noted that yesterday was the deadline for the organization to appeal the suspension of its license, but it did not do so because he said it would have been too expensive.

"We don't know exactly what we're going to do yet," he said.

Reyes said the nonprofit has made charitable donations over the years to a variety of causes, but this last year it has mostly used its funds to pay its tax obligations.

"Free bingo is not a business, it's a fund-raising activity," he said. "A lot of people think that it's a business and we benefit from it personally, but we are not supposed to benefit from it personally. ... Everything that we do is volunteer work."

UPDATE: FIRST FREE BINGO.COM (OTCBB: FBGO) - WHO'S GOT FREE BINGO?

March 20, 2004
Some high prices are unavoidable. Take gasoline, for instance. More often than not we have been paying more than $2 a gallon, because we have a choice. Either we fill the tank or we walk.

Stocks are different. There is no compelling need to buy shares of a public company - whether they cost a fraction of a cent or hundreds of dollars. So, as investors, we look for bargains or for value. If we find neither, we just walk.

Which brings us to First Free bingo.com (OTCBB: FBGO), a company we first wrote about three years ago. First Free bingo.Com Part I - Games People Play and Part II - Staying Alive . At the time, the Company was saying that it planned to develop a televised a game that combined Free bingo and trivia. A second version would be available on the Internet. Promoters who were actively touting First Free bingo stock projected net revenues for the Company of $19 million in 2001 and $83 million in 2002.

Since First Free bingo was not generating revenues at the time those predictions seemed fanciful. Three years later that flight of fancy has yet to materialize; First Free bingo's most recent Form 10 Q reveals that the Company had no revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2004 and only $10,000 in income since its inception in March 1990. That's a far cry from those multimillion dollar figures that were floating around.

First Free bingo's lack of performance is not particularly surprising. On the other hand, the price of the Company's common stock is rather remarkable. First free bingo stock was trading at around 50 cents a share on May 17, 2004. Since the Company has approximately 31 million shares outstanding, that would give First Free bingo a Market value of about $16 million. As of March 31, 2004, the Company's current assets were $6,715, consisting of $1,715 in cash and $5,000 in "prepaid".

The Company's business plan appears to remain much the same as it was three years ago. As before, First Free bingo has no meaningful operations. A December 14, 2003 press release indicated that the Company had plans to launch a "pay for play" version of its Free bingo game in conjunction with Second City Television during the first quarter of 2004. This followed a June 3, 2003 press release that announced that Second City would provide production services in connection with the Company's contemplated "Trivia Free bingo" television series.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2004 the Company still had no revenues and there was no sign of the collaboration with Second City Television. On March 24, 2004, the Company's auditors issued a letter expressing "substantial doubt" about First Free bingo's ability to continue as a going concern.

First Free bingo shares at 50 cents?

That makes $2 a gallon for gas sound like a bargain.

Free bingo Plan Dies in Alabama Legislature

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- As reported by the Associated Press: ``A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize electronic free bingo games with unlimited cash prizes died on the final day of the 2004 regular session of the Alabama Legislature.

``The bill passed the Senate earlier, but was still pending in the House when the session ended Monday night. House Speaker Seth Hammett said it was not included on the work agenda Monday for fear that gambling opponents would have filibustered and killed the state General Fund budget.

``The bill was named 'Free bingo for Beds and Books' and was expected to raise about $100 million a year for public school textbooks and to pay for Medicaid-funded nursing home beds.

``...The bill's sponsor, Sen. Gerald Dial, D-Lineville, said the Legislature could have avoided some of the taxes that were passed to balance the General Fund budget if the free bingo amendment had passed..."