One Cork company's attempt to take the business of bingo to a new level is bringing into focus the inadequacy of the law in the area – and the part charities have to play in the game, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL
IT’S SEVEN O’CLOCK on a Sunday evening, and already a few mainly elderly women are queuing up to buy their bingo books inside the 1,000-capacity Rock Bingo complex, in Togher in Cork city. Each book costs €10, and some will have two or three on the go at once. The company describes itself as Cork’s first dedicated bingo club, and the industrial premises have been fitted out to accommodate big bingo nights, with specially designed seating, large screens and staff to guide players through the process. While Ireland has many bingo clubs, Rock Bingo’s owner claims it is the biggest by far. The nightly prizes generally range from €50 to €500; there’s also a draw for a rolling jackpot of €10,000.
Dave Barber, who is 42 and the co-owner, surveys the scene. Rock Bingo opened last September, and by mid-January, he had expected to have run more than 100 bingo nights, justifying his family’s investment in refurbishing the premises and employing 30 staff. But tonight is only the seventh night of bingo this year.
Since Rock Bingo opened, several evenings have been disrupted following Garda raids; officers on one occasion confiscated what Barber claims was more than 20,000 bingo books. Since then he has been in court “about 14 times” to assert his right and that of his company, Omega Leisure, to run a bingo night on behalf of charities. He says the financial implications of his court appearances have been devastating for him and his business.
Bingo licences in Ireland are granted to charitable organisations by the District Court; those charities can ask agents to run them on their behalf. Barber had hoped to have some high-profile Cork charities on board, but he says that since the legal cases and the objections of Supt Charles Barry, of Togher Garda station, several have withdrawn their support. (The Garda has said it would be inappropriate to comment on an individual case, and efforts to contact Supt Barry have been unsuccessful.)
So what is it about mostly elderly women ticking numbers off a bingo card that has the Garda so interested? If the State wanted to make a stand against gambling, could it not start by regulating casinos or card clubs? One concern, expressed in an off-the-record briefing by a source close to the judicial process, is that the big commercial bingo operation in Cork – arguably the first of its type on this scale in Ireland – could set a precedent and have implications for smaller, local bingo nights. It also raises questions about who can run bingo in Ireland. Should it continue to be a local charity on a small scale within its locality, or is it okay for a commercial agent to run larger operations with returns for the charities involved of as little as 10 per cent – if any dividend is paid at all.
As the law stands, 50 per cent is given out as prizes, the operator is entitled to 40 per cent for running the bingo, with 10 per cent going to charities and sporting organisations, provided there is a profit. Rock Bingo says that, over a year, its target is to raise €250,000 for them.
Some of the issues have already been decided by a “partial” High Court ruling on December 9th, and in a detailed judgment on January 12th by Justice Frank Clarke who stated: “There is nothing in the legislation which seems to me to require that a raffle, bingo or any other lottery needs to be structured in such a way that the charity must make a profit irrespective of how badly sales go.
This ruling, which effectively allowed Rock Bingo to run bingo games for any licence-holder, is under consideration and may be appealed to the Supreme Court. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has the Government’s agreement for a comprehensive new Bill on gambling, including bingo, and he hopes to present a draft of the proposed legislation to his Cabinet colleagues later this year, for approval.
Dave Barber, whose family has been in business in Cork since the 1960s, says he first identified the opportunity for bingo in this part of Cork a number of years ago. “It seemed the perfect site. The GAA runs bingo a few hundred metres down the road once a week, so we didn’t envisage any problems.”
Rock Bingo is currently run on behalf of one charity and one sporting body, both of them from outside the city: Longford Rugby Club and the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust. In the Togher area, several bingo nights already take place each week, one at a local GAA club, another at Ballyphehane Community Centre.
Last September, Garda stopped a licence being granted to St Augustine’s Global Foundation, an international charity with a regional office in Cork. The organisation had asked the District Court for a licence, hoping to have Rock Bingo run the games on its behalf. The court turned down its application on the basis that the area already had enough bingo games. The foundation is reapplying for its licence.
With Longford Rugby Club and the Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust on board, Rock Bingo is now trying to regain momentum. The owners have not ruled out opening similar operations in other parts of the country.
Several kilometres away, members of Ballyphehane Community Centre say Rock Bingo’s presence has meant employees at the community centre have been put on protective notice. The centre runs bingo two nights a week; the €1,000 or so in profits helps to keep the centre open and pay wages.
That group’s chairman, Denis Kelly, says there is uncertainty about how much money may go to local charities from Rock Bingo games. “The worst-case scenario is that local charities could be decimated and others may not benefit at all. We pay out the same amount every week, and it is the last 50 people in the door who help us make a small profit. This money provides a start-up for new activities, such as a youth cafe, and providing resources to local groups.”
Omega Leisure says it made a goodwill payment to Longford Rugby Club this month but has not yet paid money to charities or sporting organisations from its Cork operation. “That will work on a cumulative basis,” its public-relations representative says. The company expects to make payments every quarter, the first in March, as long as Rock Bingo meets its targets.
Dave Barber says the company is determined to make its project a success. But so far it has been a fraught and legally expensive affair. “It is very unpleasant . . . Our family are devastated to be called into question in this way simply because we want to run a bingo operation.”
What the law says
Under the Gaming and Lotteries Act of 1956, the District Court can grant a charitable organisation a licence to hold bingo or other games anywhere in the State. The Act allows for up to 40 per cent of the gross proceeds for “the expenses of promotion, including commission”.
An operator is also entitled to take its expenses from this slice, and to use another 50 per cent for prizes, before making any payment to a charity. In effect, this means that the charity may only make money after the operator makes a profit.
As nothing in the Act requires the charities to make a profit in order to continue to run bingo, legislation may be needed to clarify this area.
