Bingo & Gaming
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- Batchewana First Nation Bingo Halloween
- Batchewana First Nation Bingo Hall
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- Batchewana First Nation Bingo Halloween Costume
BATCHEWANA BINGO & GAMING CANTEEN
OPEN Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 11am–5pm
We accept Debit & cash payment.
Batchewana First Nation Bingo & Gaming Facility (6.3 km) 99 Gran St Sault Ste Marie, ON, P6A 5K9. Garden River Bingo Hall (12.6 km) 24 Hiawatha Dr Garden River, ON. On February 13, 2015 at approximately 5:30 a.m., two males entered the Batchewana Bingo and Gaming Facility on Gran Street and stole an ATM machine containing an undisclosed amount of cash. Garden River Bingo was honoured to be nominated and the recipient of the 2019 Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce Indigenious Business Award. We strive to offer our customers the best in BINGO entertainment and are proud to be the number one Bingo Captial in the North.
Takeout orders only/curbside pick-up call 705-759-2297 ext. 2 or 3
DAILY DINNER SPECIALS
Tues. Dec. 8th
Fish & Fries $12
Or Western with fries $8
WED. Dec. 9th
Lasagna & Garlic Bread, Cake $12
THURS. Dec. 10th
Panzarotti
(cheese & pepperoni, extra items $1) $10
TUESDAY Dec. 15th
Pasta & Meatballs $10
WED. Dec. 16th
Turkey Dinner $10
THURSDAY. DEC. 17th
Hot Hamburger with Fries $10
Bingo Canteen will be closed from Dec. 21 – Jan. 04,2021. Canteen will reopen Jan. 05 2021.
WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND WISH EVERYONE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS &
A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
STAY SAFE!
Takeout menu
99 GRAN STREET (RANKIN RESERVE) BATCHEWANA FIRST NATION, ON Phone: 705-759-2297 extension 2 or 3
www.batchewanabingo.com
For Takeout orders (Curbside pickup only) call 705-759-2297 extension 2 or 3
Open Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
11:00AM – 6:00PM
Drinks
POP / $2.00
(Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, Root Beer,
Fanta, Fresca, Sprite)
Water / $2.00 Nestea / $2.00
(Nestea, Nestea Zero)
Juice / $2.00
(Apple, Orange, Cranberry, Five Alive)
*Cigarettes also available
Soups
Daily Homemade Soup / $4.00
Salad
Batchewana Health Centre
Garden Salad / $5.00
Sandwiches
Sandwich only / $4.00
Egg Salad
Bologna
Grilled Cheese
Ham
With Soup or Fries / $7.00BLT / $5.00 w/fries $8.00 Western / $5.00 w/fries $8.00
Wraps
Wrap only / $8.00
• Chicken Caesar • Chicken
With Fries / $11.00
Burgers
Hamburger / $5.00 w/fries $8.00 Cheeseburger / $6.00 w/fries $9.00 Chicken Burger / $5.00 w/fries $8.00 Hot Hamburger and Fries / $9.00
Add Bacon / $2.00 or cheese / $1.00
Sides
Fries / $4.00
Wedges / $4.00
Onion Rings / $4.00
Deep Fried Ravioli / $4.00 Mushroom Caps / $4.00 Cheese Sticks / $4.00Chicken fingers (3) / $5.00 Popcorn Chicken / $4.00 Gravy / $2.00
Small Poutine / $5.00 Medium Poutine / $7.00 Large Poutine / $9.00Cheeseburger Poutine / $9.00
Dessert
Daily Homemade Dessert / $5.00
236 Frontenac St.
Rankin Reserve 15 D,
Batchewana First Nation, ON
P6A 6Z1
For more information please call (705) 759-2297
99 Gran St (Beside Rankin Arena)
An all-out, backs-to-the-wall, fight-to-the-death bingo war is brewing in Sault Ste. Marie.
And Scott Reid, president of the Greenbelt Charities Association, is concerned that the outcome may be the loss of the Sault's only licensed bingo hall and a major source of income to the 33 local charities that raise money there.
Greenbelt Bingo alleges that it's facing unfair and illegal competition from 14 unlicensed bingos a week operating in Garden River and Batchewana First Nations.
In interviews, officials of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and the City of Sault Ste. Marie tell SooToday.com that they agree with that legal interpretation .
With Garden River preparing to open a brand-new 11,000-square-foot bingo hall that will run seven days a week and target Sault charities, Reid is lobbying everyone from the Ontario Provinicial Police to Premier Dalton McGuinty for a Criminal Code crackdown.
Despite widely held concerns about the legality of the First Nations bingos, Reid has so far been unable to get anyone to take action.
Province said to be planning its own bingos
And to make things worse, Reid says he's learned of plans by the Government of Ontario for a trial run of provincially run bingos.
'The first pilot provincially operated bingo hall is set to open in Barrie on September 1,' Reid says. 'They've also hired the vice president of bingo operations from B.C. Lottery and Gaming Commission.
Reid believes it's just a matter of time until all private charity bingos like Greenbelt will be gone from Ontario.
'We know it's coming,' he says. 'We just wish they would just come out and say it rather than put us through all this for nothing.'
Reid says he recently learned of these developments from bingo equipment suppliers.
SooToday.com has so far been unable to confirm or refute any plans the Province may have to introduce publicly run bingo halls in Ontario.
But with attendance dropping at Greenbelt and Garden River set to open, Reid says the troubles at the Sault's only licensed bingo hall will begin long before September.
What Garden River is doing
Garden River First Nation's brand new, large, bright, modern bingo hall is nearly finished and it will allow smoking.
Chief Lyle Sayers tells SooToday.com that the facility will open soon but he doesn't know exactly when.
'Difficulties with power have caused some slowdowns,' Sayers said.
Bingo is nothing new in Batchewana and Garden River.
Batchewana First Nation Bingo Halloween
It's been an integral part of First Nations culture in both communities for many years.
Reid told representatives of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) at a recent public meeting of Sault Ste. Marie's Charities and Not-for-Profit Funding Advisory Committee that bingos currently operate in Rankin Arena on Batchewana First Nation territory and in the Garden River Community Centre or church on a regular basis.
The tobacco issue
Greenbelt's revenue for member charities has declined sharply since Sault Ste. Marie's smoking ban was introduced, Reid said, because in addition to offering bigger prizes and better games, the First Nations bingo halls also allow players to smoke.
'The illegal bingos are bleeding Greenbelt dry,' added Susan Bursche, the City's tax and license analyst.
According to the Criminal Code of Canada, all games of chance are illegal in Canada unless they are officially licensed by a recognized body such as AGCO.
About 30 to 35 other First Nation communities across the province have agreements designating their bands as agents of AGCO in much the same way as the City of Sault Ste. Marie is recognized as an agent of the commission.
These First Nations can charge charities and not-for-profit associations up to three percent of prizes offered to offset the cost of administering AGCO rules and regulations, he said.
'It would appear this is an illegal gaming operation'
Neither Batchewana First Nation of Ojibways nor Garden River First Nation have entered into similar agreements with AGCO, says AGCO spokesperson Ab Campion.
No licenses have been issued by the provincial regulatory regime to bingos operating in either Batchewana or Garden River, Campion told us.
'Neither one is licensed .... So it would appear this is an illegal gaming operation,' he said.
'I cannot find anywhere in the Criminal Code that states that First Nations are exempt from this code,' Greenbelt's Reid says in a recent letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty.
'It is our opinion this hall and the 33 charities that are currently operating within the Criminal Code are being discriminated against. Why are we forced to adhere to the Criminal Code while Garden River and Batchewana are not? Would you not consider this a form of discrimination?' Reid asked the premier.
'We do not understand how the offices that were created to uphold the law can turn a blind eye to those who break the law. This is unfair, unacceptable and must be rectified.'
No complaints received
However, since the bingo hall in Garden River has not yet opened or offered any games of chance, it is not doing anything illegal, First Nation police tell SooToday,com. Inspector John Syrette of Anishinebek Police Services believes Garden River still has time to get any licenses it might need for its new bingo hall.
Syrette also said that no complaints about bingos operating in the church or community centre in Garden River have come to his office, so the possibility that they may be operating illegally had never been investigated.
Garden River Chief Sayers says those bingos are licensed by the Garden River First Nation band and no other licenses are needed by them.
He was also unsympathetic to the Sault committee's concerns.
'They should come to me with their allegations,' said Sayers who, who agreed that his Garden River bingo will likely become a threat to the financial survival of Greenbelt Bingo, laughing at the possibility in a SooToday.com interview.
Batchewana First Nation Bingo Hall
'We make our own rules and we abide by them'
Sayers said that his band doesn't require an agreement with the Province giving it authority to issue gaming licenses.
Batchewana Jobs
He said that Garden River ensures that bingos functioning under the its jurisdiction conform to the Criminal Code of Canada.
'We're our own government here,' said Sayers. 'We do what we want to do, not what other people tell us to do.'
'We make our own rules and we abide by them,' Sayers said. 'Whether they conform to Ontario's rules does not matter to me.'
The Criminal Code also regulates how bingo funds may be used and Sayers told SooToday.com that the books on their bingos are regularly reviewed by his cand council and are open for inspection by band members to look at.
The chief added that there's no need to open those books to non-band members.
'It's run under Garden River and our members get access to that information,' said Sayers.
Batchewana First Nation Bingo Halloween Costume
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