Millbrook village board approves bingo law, public vote set for June 23

MILLBROOK — Millbrook’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to pass two laws allowing bingo and “games of chance” to operate within the village limits after a public hearing on Wednesday, April 22.

Now comes a public vote. Residents can cast their ballot on the referendum on June 23, and if adopted, the new laws will go into effect in the following days.

The games were removedin 2021. Millbrook Mayor Peter Doro, who did not hold the office in 2021, said it was most likely part of a larger “clean up” of the Village Code. “These municipal codes can get very unwieldy with various additions over the years so periodic reviews are useful for organization and simplicity purposes,” he said.

The bingo ban was largely ignored until earlier this year, when the village put a stop to ongoing games at the fire station. The firefighters showed up in force at Wednesday’s vote, wearing matching jackets and hats emblazoned with “Millbrook Fire Rescue.”

No one offered a rebuttal during the public hearing. The only request for clarification came from Trustee Shannon Mawson, who questioned the law’s verbiage of allowing “certain organizations” to run the games. She was reassured, however, that the inclusion of “certain” was not an indication that a class of business would be excluded from running the games. Anyone wishing to host bingo will still need to apply for a license with the state.