REHAB LOTTERIES is bidding to break into the €150 million global online bingo business in an effort to raise funds to develop vital new services for people with disabilities in County Roscommon. Rehab operates a variety of services in Roscommon through its health and social care division RehabCare and its training and education division, National Learning Network.
Roscommon, Ireland (PRWEB) January 14, 2006 -- REHAB LOTTERIES is bidding to break into the €150 million global online bingo business in an effort to raise funds to develop vital new services for people with disabilities in County Roscommon.
Ireland's first online bingo site, RehabBingo.com, aims to attract players from as far apart as the US and Japan to help finance Rehab's community based training, education, employment and social care services.
Irish online game players — particularly young women — and regular visitors to the hundreds of traditional bingo halls around the country are also being targeted by the initiative which aims to raise €1 million over the next five years.
Said Rehab Lotteries managing director, Dr. John McGuire, "Bingo has always been a hugely popular method of charity fund-raising in Ireland and we believe that the online version of the game can become a major contributor to developing Rehab services in Roscommon and throughout the rest of the country."
"It is estimated that more than five million people play online bingo around the world each day and just capturing a fraction of that market, on top of those playing in Ireland, would make this a very successful enterprise."
Dr. McGuire added that around three quarters of regular online bingo players at present are women despite the fact that up to now they had very little involvement in an online gaming market which is now worth €2 billion a year in Ireland alone. Studies also show that where online bingo is concerned, the main motivation for playing is entertainment as opposed to gambling.
Rehab operates a variety of services in Roscommon through its health and social care division RehabCare and its training and education division, National Learning Network.
The National Learning Network delivers a large number of training programmes at its Castlerea centre. These include the acclaimed Fresh Start programme which assists people who may have been out of work for some time to get back into employment, as well as a Horticulture training programme and Employer Based Training enabling participants to work with a host company. In addition, the highly successful Access Rehabilitative training programme is also on offer at the Castlerea Centre.
Meanwhile, RehabCare operates a sheltered workshop, also in Castlerea which is geared-towards providing work and personal development services to people with disabilities who cannot access open employment.
Added Dr. McGuire: "These are world class services, of which Rehab is immensely proud. Revenue from our bingo site will enable Rehab to keep developing new services that keep pace with the changing needs and wishes of people with disabilities hi Roscommon."
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