Whatever you may wish to call the pastime, here in Tenerife playing this game for money is supposedly only legal in properly accredited places. Prize Bingo is slightly different but the authorities still wish to ensure that as soon as their backs are turned the ubiquitous bottle of wine or 200 cigarettes are not exchanged for money!

Yes, there are many venues all over the island that DO play Bingo for money on a regular basis and that are quite flagrantly doing so, even to the extent of advertising the fact outside on boards. Yet this is totally illegal. The only reason that so many places are ‘getting away with it’ is because nobody has denounced them or brought it to the attention of the Authorities. How do Bingo know this? Because somebody once denounced a certain bar on the island and they were stopped on the spot and had to pay a huge fine, even after explaining that they had a charity number and were running the session to raised funds for under-privileged Canary children. This is absolutely true, as many people can testify.
Probably the most important fact to come out of all this is that there are bars who previously ran Bingo sessions nightly, but once told that it was illegal, ceased immediately, much to the chagrin of their customers who promptly ran off to another bar where they can still play Bingo. How do Bingo know this? Because inspectors, some time ago, walked into every bar in the south that they suspected of playing Bingo for money prizes and stopped it on the spot, warning of dire consequences if they carried on. So, naturally enough, the bars who are abiding by the law are quite cross about the whole situation. Why do the inspectors not return to check up? Why can one bar get away with it - and the extra revenue - whilst the law-abiding bar next door is left to do karaoke all night? And to throw another spanner in the works, why are there still entertainers who are not legal being allowed to perform all over the island, taking the bread from the legal acts’ mouths? Think on these things.
Incidentally, those people in the north who may fondly imagine that these laws do not apply to them, think again. The original bar mentioned in this article is British owned, situated in the north. Furthermore, the work inspectors recently walked into a Canarian-owned bar and found an illegal worker behind the bar. They fined both him and the owner of the bar 3000 euros each. Is it worth it? Ruby