FARMINGTON – New legislation aimed at reversing a downturn in the popularity of senior bingo will increase jackpots and lower the eligible age for the unlicensed gambling.

A law passed in 2005 put added restrictions on senior bingo, stipulating that participants be at least 60 years old and that jackpots not exceed $150 a day. The legislation was meant to allow the games to go unlicensed, saving them time and money and giving seniors a cheap and fun pastime.

Instead, the law excluded many seniors who want to play bingo and discouraged those that could because of the small size of winnings, said state Sen. Joseph Kenney, R-Wakefield.

Kenney and state Rep. Casey Crane, R-Nashua, are sponsoring a new bill aimed at lifting restrictions on senior bingo.

"We've actually hindered the game, we've hurt bingo," Crane said of the restrictions.

The pair of legislators held a hearing in Farmington yesterday at the old town hall, where about 50 seniors had showed to play bingo and chat with friends. Although most came to play, continuing to talk among themselves as legislators and other officials gave speeches; sentiment was strongly in favor of the changes.

Senior bingo was more than a game for those here yesterday, it was a place to see friends and one of few gathering places for people their age.

Pauline Paquette waited a year to come to bingo here yesterday, on her 60th birthday. She was kicked out of the same bingo a year earlier on her 59th birthday for being too young.

"It's so nice to see the people you worked with and the people you go to church with," she said.

Paquette, like many in attendance yesterday, is a big bingo fan. On Monday she went to bingo in Union, on Tuesday it was Milton and yesterday, Farmington.

"It's like we have a group of friendly people we like being with," she said.

Many seniors will travel dozens of miles to play bingo, a difficult task considering they often must hitch a ride or catch a bus. Winning at bingo means an extra $10 here, maybe $40 there, sometimes not even enough to cover the cost of getting to the game.

Licensed bingo parlors are able to give larger jackpots and allow younger players. Some said yesterday they like those bingo games as well, but cherish the senior bingos.

"These seniors, they don't go out and night and they don't drive," said Lil Card, 74, of Rochester. "Most of them I know stay home every night; not me."

Card runs the kitchen at Rochester Bingo and said she enjoys the young people who play there, including her granddaughter. She said she only hopes the new legislation will allow senior bingo to go on and to make it worthwhile for those coming.

"They should have never touched these little bingos," she said of last year's legislation

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