A smoking ban and a limit on prize payouts have played havoc with Ontario’s bingo halls during the past few years causing many to close, according to the Welland Tribune.
Rick Carpenter, the general manager of Main Street Bingo Palace, told The Tribune the region used to have 225 bingo halls but now there are just 68.
He added that after the smoking ban went into effect, half of his clientele left, and that his establishment hasn’t made money for two years.
Not only is the smoking ban deterring customers, but prize payout limits -- meant to help bingo halls -- are hurting smaller businesses by only allowing prizes equaling 70 percent of a bingo hall’s gross revenue during a three-month period.