Bingo is ruler in Georgia. Georgia is where Bingo came from in America, way back in 1929. But during the years immediately after Bingo showed up (via Italy) at a county fair in Georgia, the game had been made against the law with most other forms of gambling.
In 1976, Bingo was made legal for not for profit agencies. Since Bingo is one of only 3 forms of gambling legalised in Georgia (along with raffles and the state lotto), the game has turn out to be a huge crowd pleaser.
There are well over Two hundred bingo operators in Georgia nowadays. Georgians grossed over Thirty Five Million dollars in profits for its Bingo providers in Two Thousand and Five, for an average of about 130,000 dollars per provider. Georgians won more than 20,000,000 dollars in cash during the same period. Georgian charities saw 1.5 million dollars in proceeds from the Bingo industry.
Georgia has a few of the toughest bingo regulations in the U.S. Providers are restricted in the sum of prizes they can pay at any one time. Games can hand out prizes with a $1,500 per session and $3,000 per week, which is far below the restrictions in certain other states.
The GBI: Bingo Unit oversees bingo games in the state. During the last 25 years, around Fifty establishments have forfeited their license in Georgia for continued violations of the state wagering laws. The end result is that nearly all bingo palaces in Georgia are Veterans of Foreign Wars and support organizations, the type of agencies which run a game to pay for their not for profit actions.
Obviously, as long as bingo is a huge cash venture, there will be people who discover a way to skirt the law. With twelve thousand or more people working in the charitable gambling sector of Georgia, the Bingo Unit is certain to be busy during the years to come.