How weird ? Have you got a link to this please ?

They should have eaten the evidence

Alan

A load of old grannies got arrested and charged in Cyprus a few years ago for their afternoon "Rummy" sessions in their own homes.

Eighteen months later the police eventually dropped the charges. The ladies were aged between 62 and 98.

It made casino and gambling news worldwide. I managed to find a link to the part where charges were dropped as the Cyprus Mail original link now displays an error (they just revamped their website). Take a peep: http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/gambling-grannies-win-cyprus-reprieve-1.1247778

Might be in the Sun newspaper tomorrow ( Did I just call the Sun a newspaper?)
An ex-pat place called the Yorkshire Tavern.

http://www.albufeira.com/forum/soca-strikes-in-the-algarve_topic8023_post79557.html

And for those on FB

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Yorkshire-Tavern/180928635262120?fref=ts

Sanji x

Might be in the Sun newspaper tomorrow ( Did I just call the Sun a newspaper?)

Now that one did need a "Like" button!

Sounds like an excuse to fine 24 British OAP's €750 per person not bad for a nights work !

Maybe the Portuguese police should try and crack some of the real crimes that go on there instead of soft targets.

How come they leave the dodgy lap dancing clubs and the credit card fr**d alone and don't seem to be able to crack down on the violent muggings they have periodically over there in Albuferia.

Surely real gambling involves money not viscount chocolate biscuits

I guess that's another 30 tourists the Algarve has lost, loads more if the 'red tops' here are having a slow day tomorrow.

Doe

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4980902/Clickety-nicked.html

Sanji x

€50 for biscuits and chocolate they'd have been better off not charging for the bingo books, surely they'd have made some profit from the drinks?

According to the above article they could face fines of between £1300 and £8500.

What makes it gambling is that the bar owners were charging a 'stake' - as Glynis says, if they'd simply donated the prizes, given the books away and relied on increased bar takings to generate some profit for them then they could have argued that it was just a bit of fun for the enjoyment of their customers and nothing more. But from the sound of it, the 'house' was making a relatively hefty profit on a bit of chocolate and some biscuits!

SM

Can't see where there is a hefty on profit on €50 used to buy chocolate and biscuits.

No idea how much gambling tax is in Portugal, but if their view is the stake money was €50 (ergo biscuit and chocolate money) & costs €30 alleged profit of € 20, at 20% tax it would be €4 owed - laughable when you think the costs of a two week 'stake out' of the Portuguese police running into €10,000's.

The government would be getting the IVA on the alcohol sold so it's not like that is owed.

How can they arrest folk just for watching or happening to be there at the same time its a bar so anyone can go in for a drink.If 12 highly skilled police officers were involved in a two week stake out they could have worked out who had a bingo card in front of them and who didn't - it's not rocket science.

How can Country that is virtually bankrupt afford 12 police officers on this wonder if Merkel will read about it in Germany's equivalent of The Sun and mention it when they go cap in hand to her for the next bail out ?

Doe, I was thinking in % terms - unless they were Duchy originals, they were making anything up to 200% profit or more on the outlay for biscuits and chocolate.

Whether it was worth the expenditure in police time etc is another issue but at that size of fine perhaps they decided it was worth it? Either way, the bar owners were technically organising a gambling activity and the players were gambling their stake (ie the charge for the bingo books) in the hope of winning a return of chocolates and biscuits. I'm just surprised that they were prepared to risk losing their licence for this.

SM

Lol @ Duchy originals SM. I see what you are saying, but still seems completely ridiculous to those looking in and makes the GNR look like fools and harms Algarve tourism.

I suspect the bar didn't think they were doing anything wrong as they knew they weren't making a profit therefore they wouldn't have felt they were putting their licence at risk.

I'm sure I have been on a First Choice or Thomas Cook holiday in the Algarve years ago and bingo nights were organised, can't believe a big company like that would take any risks, so there must be ways of doing this, lots of the older guests seemed to like it used to see them setting down to play as we went out for the evening.

I'm not a bingo person myself, but I guess many tourists after a day in the sun enjoy this as a pastime for a couple of hours and from a common sense point of view seems a darn sight more harmless than a load of people boozing the night away on the strip getting hammered or whatever people call it these days.

Doe

When I first read the story, I thought this was a bar supplying bingo cards and a few packets of biscuits for the prize out of their bar takings.....Then later money was mentioned.

I've no sympathy, apart from towards those who just happened to walk into the bar to watch the sport on the TV - the owners have been in Portugal for 13 years and they should know the law.
If you want to play bingo, then apply and pay for a gambling license.

The raid by the Portuguese police is merely an exercise to send out a message to the other bars, who think they can flout or get around the strict gambling laws.
I've seen it happen in Benidorm - some expats think they are a law unto themselves.

I've stayed in a hotel in Benidorm where they have bingo every night before the artists perform - the hotel gives out the bingo cards and the prizes are cr@p - if you win a bottle of plonk, it's only good enough to soak your dentures in it.
There is no money involved and the hotel group has obviously applied, paid and been granted a license.

Anyway, anyone who goes to Portugal or Spain to play bingo, they ought to be locked up.

Sanji

I've played bingo in Menorca. We were AI and so rather than be told to 'Shhhh the bingo's on' my friend and I played. I've even seen people who've brought their dabbers, but, each to their own.

What are dabbers Glynis ?

I've seen bingo played all over the Med in hotels that have organised evening entertainment, seems a pretty harmless thing to me in the grand scheme of things.

Doe

No idea what the rules and regulations are abroad but here in the UK Bingo is covered under the Betting and Gaming Act and you have to abide by them.
One example is the minimum age of players which caused a bit of hassle some years ago in our club when we insisted on applying them. Yes I am sure people can point out it is all a bit of fun but the potential for making money out of Bingo is an incentive to break the rules.
I was told of one hotel in Spain that found it a good way of subsidising the Animation Team costs giving cheap bottles of wine as prizes until the people playing caught on how much they were being ripped off.
No doubt as someone has said they were sending a message.

fwh

Glynis HT Admin wrote:

I've played bingo in Menorca.

Oh that sounds exciting , I might give it a go tonight I've taken up pushchair walking today , whilst having a nice stroll at lunchtime around the harbour area , I decided to get a pushchair , I was happily pushing it along and was stopped by someone who said " where's your child? " , I said I didn't have one , " well why do you have a pushchair ? " I replied , well everyone else does and I was feeling a bit left out

The worst bingo I ever encountered was at some hotel in Tunisia years ago , they announced the numbers in English very badly and then would repeat the number in German , it was taking sooooo long , even with my limited schoolboy German I was shouting out the numbers to save them time translating , it was as mind numbing as the score reading at the Eurovision Song Contest .

Hopefully you can't be arrested for pushing an empty pushchair about Andy. Menorca lucky you, one of my favorite Med places

I was somewhere that they made announcements in English, Russian, German and Turkish, gave up on the entertainment after night one, couldn't be doing with listening to all that.

Doe

doe wrote:

Hopefully you can't be arrested for pushing an empty pushchair about Andy. Menorca lucky you, one of my favorite Med places

Doe :sun2

It is very nice , I came here a few years ago , so must of liked it to come back !!! Off to Ciutadella tomorrow , we are staying near Cal n Bosch , I will review the hotel when I get back , it's not on the list in the review section ...yet !! It's called La Quinta .

The pushchair is not empty now , full of beer and wine from the super mercado saves having to carry it !!

Sorry But bingo is boring