OWNERS OF a Cork bingo hall raided on its opening gala night have said they are confident the situation will be resolved as all of their activities are legal and above board.
Up to 300 bingo fans enjoyed the opening night at the Rock Bingo Centre in Togher, Cork city, on Sunday evening unaware that gardaí were on site seizing bingo books and other paperwork.
Bingo games had been under way for less than 15 minutes on New Year’s Day when gardaí arrived to conduct a search and seizure operation. The Garda warrant is understood to have been related to concerns about the validity of the licence for the evening’s games.
Rock Bingo was previously set to open on November 1st when gardaí arrived with a search warrant and the business was closed. However, the High Court declared the operation to be a lawful enterprise at the start of December.
As part of the legislation surrounding such operations, Rock Bingo must work with beneficiary partners, which can include licence-holding charities and non-profit organisations.
Owner Dave Barber, speaking on Cork’s 96FM, said a percentage of takings goes to selected charities and non-profit bodies.