Joanna Richardson loves bingo. She loves to frequently visit bingo halls to take part in her favourite pastime. This would have been just an ordinary occurrence except that Joanna is blind.

Joanna is one of the marginal number of handicapped people who love to play bingo at bingo halls. Their disability does not serve as an impediment to indulge in the game.

In Joanna’s case, to be able to participate in bingo games in halls, she needs to use a special audible bingo card that is designed for visually-impaired people. An audible bingo card is an electronic gadget that allows the player to follow the numbers called in a bingo game. This gadget makes playing bingo a lot easier for her.
However, problems arose when other bingo players complained about the loud sound coming from the electronic card. Mrs. Richardson was told to set her audible card in silent mode or she cannot play. This poses as a problem because the sound aided her to monitor the numbers.

Mrs. Richardson filed a complaint to the Racing and Wagering Board against this rule. Her efforts finally came to fruition when the Board granted her the right to use the audible cards in bingo halls. The silent mode is no longer necessary. She can set the audible card to beep when she scores a bingo and to make an alert sound when the bingo player only requires one number to create a bingo.

As a result of the decision by the Board, bingo halls are required to provide electronic bingo cards to any player, regardless of whether they are impaired or not.

The Board however do not like the idea of turning bingo halls into noisy venues like casinos where sounds of machines permeate the environment. These gadgets may be distracting to other players. However, the Board decided to grant the request to protect the interest of people like Mrs. Richardson who required those gadgets to be able to play the bingo game like ordinary players.

Bingo halls after all are not limited to the able and healthy people alone. Bingo welcomes all sorts of players. People like Mrs. Richardson should not be hindered from enjoying their favourite game just because of their disability. Also, with the new rule, it is the desire of the Board that people with handicap may be encouraged to participate in social and recreational activities outside their homes and integrate into the society seamlessly.