Hamilton city councillors are supporting Princess Bingo’s bid to upgrade equipment and offer a form of electronic gaming.
Members of the planning committee have voted 8-1 in favour of the central mountain business’ application to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation to add e-bingo machines.
Fifty-two registered charities currently rely on Princess Bingo revenue.
John Van Duzer, a spokesman for the Princess Bingo Sponsors Association representing those charities, warns that the hall has seen a 22 per cent decline in customers over the past decade.
He adds that if it is not able to modernize and the owners are not making a profit, then it will close, and “52 charities will be out of a lot of money, period.”
Van Duzer also told councillors on Tuesday morning that 37 other bingo halls across the province have already made the electronic upgrades.
The planning committee’s decision now goes to city council for ratification next Wednesday.
Princess Bingo has been Hamilton’s only bingo hall since Delta Bingo shut down in 2014.