How2Day: Bingo Halls in Tennesse

Bingo halls in Tennessee were forced to shut down in 1989. C Squared Studios/Photodisc/Getty Images
In the state of Tennessee, bingo halls have been outlawed since 1989, when the Tennessee Supreme Court made bingo--alongside other gambling-type activities like horse racing and raffles--illegal due to widespread corruption amongst the bingo-hall community. Before the ban went into effect, bingo halls in Tennessee were generating nearly $30 million a year, according to an estimate by The New York Times. As of 2010, state legislature was considering repealing the ban on bingo halls.

Bingo halls were long a favorite Tennessee pastime, with hundreds of bingo halls in operation in the state. In the 1980s, it was estimated that there were as many as 300 bingo halls within the state's borders. Because of Tennessee state laws, pre-1989, bingo halls were required to have a charitable purpose, with the proceeds of the games going to good causes and foundations. It is estimated that $31 million dollars were generated every year; the top bingo halls were pulling in thousands of dollars a night.

Audits of Tennessee bingo halls revealed that only 2 percent could actually be tied to the charities they claimed to benefit. Top bingo-hall officials later admitted to helping bingo halls obtain fraudulent paperwork that allowed them to misrepresent themselves as charitable institutions, and several Tennessee bingo hall heads were accused of attempting to tamper with elections and bribing government officials. Tennessee's Secretary of State, Gentry Crowell, committed suicide after being investigated for his involvement in the bingo scandal.

In 1989, following a five-year investigation dubbed Operation Rocky Top, the state Supreme Court decided to ban bingo altogether. Almost 160 Tennessee bingo halls were shut down, and many of those bingo halls chose to move across state lines in order to continue operating. Though bingo halls were pushed out of Tennessee, many of the state's bingo fans continued to play, driving to states like Kentucky and North Carolina to get their bingo fix. Bingo continues to be a profitable business in the states surrounding Tennessee, though legalized gambling in the U.S. means it is not as popular as it once was.

Many veterans living in Tennessee are pushing to have the bingo ban amended, as bingo once brought in a considerable income for groups like the American Legion. In 2002, legislators created an amendment legalizing the sale of lotto tickets and lotto scratch cards; as of 2010, there is a push to have a similar amendment created to re-legalize bingo in the state. Currently, due to that same 2002 amendment, charities are allowed to hold one gambling-related benefit a year; charities claim that allowing bingo and raffles year-round would bring in much-needed funds.

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