British tourists got in the middle of a police raid while playing a bingo game in a Benidorm pub in Spain. The popular pub when the UK tourists were having a bingo game played, fell under a full-scale raid, with the police ordering them to stop playing.
At the time when the raid was launched, more than 100 people, most of whom were tourists from the UK, were present at the pub. As they were informed by the police, the activity they were involved in was a form of illegal gambling. The police seized the prize money, in addition to 5,000 bingo cards, two electronic bingo machines and four microphones, a well as some office supplies and a booklet with collected money accounts. . The money taken during the police raid amounted to a total of €1,447, but according to media reports, another €21,000 was found in a safe.
The officers who participated in the police attack asked four members of the pub’s staff to identify themselves and explained that a report would be made, as the venue was making a serious breach of law. According to media reports, police were aware of the fact that British tourists were taking part in illegal gambling activities at the pub, so previous warnings that serious infringement had been made.
Apart from that, three other pubs in Benidorm which offered illegal gambling operations also got warned or suffered a police raid. The Valencia Generalitat revealed that the local police had dismantled an illegal bingo that had organised games in a number of establishments across Benidorm. According to the information provided by the Valencia Generalitat, most participants in the illegal bingo activities were foreign citizens.
Unlicensed Bingo Gambling Illegal in Spain
The raid was carried out by the police following consultation with various authorities that gave it the green light. Some of the authorities which participated in the consultation were the Treasury and the Ministry of Finance’s General Directorate of Gambling.
As officials explained, the game of bingo was subjected to strict regulation on the territory of Spain, under which it is allowed to be played only in places which have been granted with the necessary license for that. All venues which offered bingo gambling without a license were actually breaching the law.
Police action against such venues could include massive monetary fines, or even a closure of the establishments in case that the infringement is considered serious enough. Currently, offering illegal gambling operations is considered a very serious breach of law.
According to information provided by the Valencia Generalitat, the premises inspected was one of the Benidorm establishments which were run and attended by British tourists who performed illegal gambling activities. Reportedly, those businesses had been put under regional police agents’ inspections several times, with all money and effects from illegal gambling having been confiscated.
- Author
Daniel Williams
