Bingo, which has been a major fundraiser in most schools in Manchester will most likely be cancelled this year. This is because organizers say they are afraid of breaking state finance rules by holding these fundraisers.

When the East Catholic High School in Manchester was cited for using a money wheel in a fundraising drive last fall, many parents, school officials and community organizers said they were shocked by the move.

However the state officials did not take any legal action against the school on learning that the school was unaware of their breaking state rules. The rules that were implemented required that organizers of fundraisers have to register with the state Division of Special Revenue to inform them about the fundraiser.

In addition to this, the organizers have to go through background checks and meet other regulations. With this incident, the public school administrators of Manchester were all prompted to alert principals and parent teacher organizations about canceling Thanksgiving themed bingo events, scheduled to be held a few weeks later.

It was okay and legal to play bingo in Connecticut for about 70 years. However because of the thousands of dollars that may lay in stake in a game of bingo, the game is not closely regulated.

Bingo is basically very popular at social halls, churches and other venues like schools and other fundraising events. It was in 1988 that a special bingo category called ‘amusement and recreation’ was started by the state.

With this category, senior citizen groups can operate games without much oversight. The prizes for this game are slotted at $20. Despite all these rules and regulations, according to Merrill Kidd, the former president of Manchester’s PTA council, and an official at the state PTA for the past four years, there are still some schools in the state that unwittingly, but illegally hold bingo nights.

Bingo news from bingo reviewer.