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Twenty-eight Irish and British citizens have been fined after appearing in Albufeira court today (Monday 24 June) for charges relating to illegal gambling after police swooped on a packed bar holding a ‘fun’ game of bingo following a tip-off and arrested them all.

The Yorkshire Tavern in Albufeira was hosting a fun bingo game following a rugby league match when twelve police officers flooded in at around 9pm last Friday night.

Everyone in the bar – even those who were only watching sport on TV and not participating in the non-profit game – were arrested and bussed to a local police station.

There they were quizzed for a number of hours about the ongoings and released in the early hours of the morning on the instruction to appear in Albufeira court today.A police statement issued this afternoon confirmed the foreigners faced charges of “exploitation of illegal gambling, illegal gambling and witnessing illegal gambling.”

In Portugal a licence is necessary for all establishments hosting activities such as bingo and quizzes, where money exchanges hands. According to police the Yorkshire Tavern was not properly licenced for the effect.

 

Speaking to The Portugal News after emerging from court this evening, bar owner Marianne Pittaway, 34, who has owned the Yorkshire Tavern for eight years, said the fines ranged from €150 to €700 and all of the 28 individuals involved have been given a suspended prison sentence.

 

“Everyone in the bar who was playing bingo was handed a €300 fine plus a three-month suspended sentence. Those who were in the bar but not playing were given a €150 fine plus a three-month suspended sentence. I was given a €700 fine and a four-month suspended sentence and [partner] António was given a €500 fine and a four-month suspended sentence.”

 

“I am mortified by this. We were not expecting it at all. I was hoping they would let everyone else off and just fine me”, she said.Ms. Pittaway described the police action as “ridiculous” and “heavy-handed.”

 

“We were the last to leave the bar. We locked up and were taken on a bus to the station at around ten past ten Friday night and we only left at quarter to three in the morning”, she said, arguing: “Most of our customers are OAPs and they’ve never been in trouble in their lives. Now they’ve been arrested and in court for a game of bingo. Clients want entertainment and we were only playing for a box of biscuits and some drinks.”

 

She claims she was asking for a nominal €1 per person to take part in the game and that that money was to be put towards prizes for a future bingo session.

 

“We had biscuits, drinks and English breakfasts as prizes. There was no cash prize and I wasn’t making any profit. If anything I was taking a loss”, she says.

 

An Irish holiday-home owner who was also caught up in the action challenged: “What kind of image does this give Portugal?

“I wasn’t even playing bingo and I was arrested. I was just about to finish my drink and go home. It was excessive. It will make people scared to go in bars now”, the Dubliner said.

 

A British ex-pat who has lived in the Algarve for 22 years and was also arrested described the incident as “crazy.”

 

“It’s a waste of paperwork”, she slammed.

 

Despite being told to be at the courthouse for 9am this morning, at 2.30pm the group was still waiting to be seen. They were given an hour from 12.30pm to 1.30pm for a break.

 

GNR police told The Portugal News that the swoop was part of ongoing police action to crack down on illegal gambling in the Algarve and that they acted upon “information reported by anonymous citizens.”

 

“It was an operation to tackle illegal gambling. Those who were involved were participating in a game of ‘luck and chance’ and were arrested. They were taken to Albufeira police station, identified, made official suspects and notified to appear in court”, explained a GNR spokesperson, stressing the detainees were only taken to the station for questioning and were “not held in cells”; “They were given a notification to appear in court and were then free to go.”

 

“It is not the first time action has been carried out against illegal gambling and it won’t be the last” he added.

 

Ms. Pittaway reasoned: “I know police have a job to do and have to follow up everything, but this was over-exaggerated. If anything take us, the owners, in for questioning and not the customers.”

 

A similar incident occurred in 2010 when police closed down a popular Irish pub in the village of Alvor (Algarve) after it was found to be involved in an illegal horse-race betting set-up.

Sources:http://www.theportugalnews.com

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