In other municipalities, bingo parlor owners have compared the instant bingo games to instant lottery tickets. At the bingo stores, gamblers can win and lose money on instant tickets. Some locations where they have opened include Brooklyn, Maple Heights and Northfield Village. Inside the establishments, patrons usually find a counter where they can sit on bar stools and select instant bingo tickets. Some parlors offer free non-alcoholic refreshments, food, and weekly drawings for cash and prizes.
Hours vary, but many are open seven days a week.
Typically, workers at the bingo parlors say they are volunteers and that proceeds from the bingo games go to local charities. Some stores also have electronic bingo games. Police in Brooklyn confiscated bingo machines last summer, and the case is still pending in Parma Municipal Court. Two parlors in Maple Heights and one in Northfield Village have the video games. Bingo stores are legal under the state's gambling laws, which allow charitable organizations to make money from bingo games and other games of chance.