Rock Bingo saga

ILikeBananas

Just wondering if anyone knows a bit more about this. I keep reading the stories in the paper about them trying to run a 1,000 seater Bingo night out in Togher but the guards keep shutting them down. There was an interesting piece in today's Examiner about it.

It seems that they've got a licence to run it but it's belonging to a rugby club in Longford which leaves it in a grey area legally. The guy running it keeps referring to the money that they are raising for charity but when pressed admitted that no money had yet been donated to any yet.

So are they a bunch of gangsters or are the guards over-reaching here?

link to Examiner article

cordub

ILikeBananas wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone knows a bit more about this. I keep reading the stories in the paper about them trying to run a 1,000 seater Bingo night out in Togher but the guards keep shutting them down. There was an interesting piece in today's Examiner about it.

It seems that they've got a licence to run it but it's belonging to a rugby club in Longford which leaves it in a grey area legally. The guy running it keeps referring to the money that they are raising for charity but when pressed admitted that no money had yet been donated to any yet.

So are they a bunch of gangsters or are the guards over-reaching here?

link to Examiner article

was there last wek and noticed the longford stamp on the back of the cards asked that ? on their fb page and got NO reply !! Its a good idea and i would go every few weeks but wonder why we are not supporting cork charities , obviously they wouldnt give the licence in cork and the longford judge was more sympathetic ;););)

castie

I have seen nightclubs using the same approach.

The Savoy about 7-9 years ago tried to get a license in another county to use it.

If anyone remembers it was around the time they could only open until 12.

gbee

Calling them Garda Raids is a bit OTT tbh.

cordub

have seen on fb that NO Cork charities wanted money from them !!I find that hard to believe and on top of that how does a Rugby club have a charity status anyway?????? Me thinks there is something very suspicious going on here seeing as one of the directors is deeply involved in a BIG rugby club in Cork ;););)

joethelion

cordub wrote: »

have seen on fb that NO Cork charities wanted money from them !!I find that hard to believe and on top of that how does a Rugby club have a charity status anyway?????? Me thinks there is something very suspicious going on here seeing as one of the directors is deeply involved in a BIG rugby club in Cork ;););)

They can use a charity/sport club from anywhere in Ireland - All Cork charitys & sports clubs that wanted to use Rock Bingo were scared off by outside sources & other bingo interests

Brussels Sprout

Sounds well dodge to me. The organisers keep using emotional language in their defence and the excuse of the charitable organisations yet there's no mention of what type of % of the profits actually go to those charities.

Charlie Barry, the superintendent who keeps raiding the place, says that he believes that the Rock bingo, by operating, is taking Bingo players from smaller legitimate bingo games that are more transparent about where their money goes.

joethelion

Brussels Sprout wrote: »

Sounds well dodge to me. The organisers keep using emotional language in their defence and the excuse of the charitable organisations yet there's no mention of what type of % of the profits actually go to those charities.

Charlie Barry, the superintendent who keeps raiding the place, says that he believes that the Rock bingo, by operating, is taking Bingo players from smaller legitimate bingo games that are more transparent about where their money goes.

Whats dodgy about that?
If i was being raided every night by the cops my lanuage would be emotional to!!!!

evilivor

Seems they got vindicated in court.

The Irish Times - Friday, January 13, 2012

Court says bingo hall is legal operation

HE OPERATORS of a 1,000-seat bingo hall in Cork were yesterday given the go-ahead to run the facility as an agent for a charity after they won a High Court declaration that its activities were legal.

Omega Leisure Ltd had sought a declaration from the High Court that it was entitled to run the Rock Bingo Hall in Togher as an agent for a charity after obtaining a District Court licence.

Omega had sought the order in proceedings against Supt Charles Barry of Togher, the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Ireland and the Attorney General.

The defendants had argued that the operations were not lawful because Omega had been refused a licence at Cork District Court and was not entitled to use a licence obtained in another District Court.

Yesterday Mr Justice Frank Clarke, in confirming a preliminary judgment given on December 9th, ruled it was clear the licence obtained by Omega could come from any District Court.

The premises has been raided on a number of occasions by gardaí since December 9th. They have seized bingo books on foot of a warrant in the belief that the operation was not legal.

Mr Justice Clarke said that while it remained possible the matter might be revisited by way of appeal to the Supreme Court, the current position was Rock Bingo was a lawful operation.

Omega had also accused Supt Barry of a misuse of public office in his approach to the operation of the bingo hall. However Mr Justice Clarke dismissed this claim.

“I am not satisfied that Supt Barry was guilty of misfeasance in public office and the claim fails in that regard.”

He also dismissed a claim by Omega for trespass against the Garda.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0113/1224310195472.html

Brussels Sprout

joethelion wrote: »

Whats dodgy about that?
If i was being raided every night by the cops my lanuage would be emotional to!!!!

The guy was making it out like he was running a charitable organisation. I'd have a lot more time for him if he said something like "I'm just trying to run a business that also happens to benefit some good causes". Instead he was pushing the profit motif completely to the back and emphasising the charity angle at every opportunity. I felt it was disingenuous and I wouldn't trust him as a result.

welchy

Brussels Sprout wrote: »

The guy was making it out like he was running a charitable organisation. I'd have a lot more time for him if he said something like "I'm just trying to run a business that also happens to benefit some good causes". Instead he was pushing the profit motif completely to the back and emphasising the charity angle at every opportunity. I felt it was disingenuous and I wouldn't trust him as a result.

To be fair, I never read anywhere that they claimed not to be running a business.

In this regard it seems that people are going to pick on whichever stance they take. When they emphasize how a % of profits are going to charity, they're called "disingenuous". When they state they're trying to run a business, everyone is at them for 'profiteering'.

The fact of the matter is that a % of the money taken in each night the bingo is running goes to a charity, and a charity that would otherwise not have been getting these funds as they don't have to means/ desire to run the bingo for themselves. I can't see the problem with this. Charities badly in need of funds are essentially getting donations every week, and a business is able to employ people and hopefully turn a profit. Where's is the problem

curly from cork

This article from The Cork News says it all for me. There has been great deal of wrong speculation and a lot of negative talk . Rock Bingo deserve damages I hope they get them .

The Cork News wrote:

The latest High Court judgment upholding the lawfulness of Rock Bingo in Togher leaves the way open for its operaters to seek damages for earnings lost due to Garda raids on the premises last week.
Mr. Justice Frank Clarke yesterday ( Thursday ) declared Rock Bingo lawful for the second time in just over a month , this time stating that he expected Superintendent Charles Barry who has led a number of raids on Rock Bingo since the Judges initial ruling on December 9 th to allow the business operate " in the ordinary way, in accordance with the law "
The Judge said: " A resort to the heavy hand of the criminal process at the first instance, in such cases of bona fide difference, runs a real risk of being deemed disproportinate".
Mr Justice Clarke said he had come to the view that Supterintendent Barry's " concerns " about Rock Bingo were " misplaced " .
" The entitlement to place a reliance on the terms of a valid court order is as much the entitlement of the citizen as of An Garda Siochana " the judge added .

curly from cork

cordub wrote: »

was there last wek and noticed the longford stamp on the back of the cards asked that ? on their fb page and got NO reply !! Its a good idea and i would go every few weeks but wonder why we are not supporting cork charities , obviously they wouldnt give the licence in cork and the longford judge was more sympathetic ;););)

Have just checked their Fb Page as far as I can see all questions were answered :rolleyes:

Brussels Sprout

welchy wrote: »

I can't see the problem with this. Charities badly in need of funds are essentially getting donations every week, and a business is able to employ people and hopefully turn a profit. Where's is the problem

The problem with this logic is that it assumes that if the Rock Bingo wasn't going ahead then those patrons wouldn't be playing Bingo. In actual fact though there are numerous smaller bingo halls dotted all around the city that run nights all throughout the week.

These smaller locations are registered and also pay a % of their profits to charitable organisations. The Rock Bingo so far has only paid lip service to paying money to charity and with a 1,000 seat capacity will likely hoover up patrons from other locations who come in search of the larger prizes an increased capacity venue can offer.

welchy

Brussels Sprout wrote:

The problem with this logic is that it assumes that if the Rock Bingo wasn't going ahead then those patrons wouldn't be playing Bingo. In actual fact though there are numerous smaller bingo halls dotted all around the city that run nights all throughout the week.

These smaller locations are registered and also pay a % of their profits to charitable organisations. The Rock Bingo so far has only paid lip service to paying money to charity and with a 1,000 seat capacity will likely hoover up patrons from other locations who come in search of the larger prizes an increased capacity venue can offer.

My logic doesn't at all assume these patrons wouldn't be playing bingo. People are free to play bingo wherever they wish, and I would assume that if some played bingo say 2/3 times a week, then their local bingo would probably always be visited on one of these nights.

I think people are confusing the issue here between legality and competition. It's not in any way illegal to open a business just because someone else has the same business elsewhere. That's just how a free market works, whether people like that or not. No one is forcing anyone to choose one over the other

What you are assuming is that there is set number of bingo players in cork, and that they'd be forced to chose one session over the other. Since most of the small operations only run once or twice a week then both operations could easily be used without causing a mass exodus from one or the other.
A new venture like Rock Bingo could easily attract people who had never previously played bingo to give it a go.

There were a host of charities which had intended to use Rock bingo before phone calls from Supt. Barry changed their minds. These charities hadn't previously been running bingo so its not as if the other clubs would have had a problem with licenses. In these times, any money coming in is a Godsend to these charities. Preserving the money going to a few does not justify leaving all the others out in the cold.

billys boots

Just as Joe Public can pick and choose where to play bingo, charities can also choose where/who stages their charity events.
Supt Barry's objections was only ONE of the reasons why some charities rejected Rock Bingo.
Seems to me that Rock Bingo are a bit arrogent about all this and as already mentioned in previous posts,window dress everything they say..
Best of luck to them,mind..

joethelion

billys boots wrote: »

Just as Joe Public can pick and choose where to play bingo, charities can also choose where/who stages their charity events.
Supt Barry's objections was only ONE of the reasons why some charities rejected Rock Bingo.
Seems to me that Rock Bingo are a bit arrogent about all this and as already mentioned in previous posts,window dress everything they say..
Best of luck to them,mind..

I understand that Rock Bingo & Jack & Jill Foundation are going to do something together & that the local cork charitys are stuck in the court system due to sporting groups objecting to them raising funds there

curly from cork

Jack and Jill are a great charity. Thats a good partnership . I went to Rock bingo last night.. managed 1 book, jeez some people had 2 if not 3 books on the go... I ll have to get in a bit of practice. Good fun though .

stacexD

What are the prizes like?

gbee

curly from cork wrote: »

I ll have to get in a bit of practice. Good fun though .

Despite the obvious downsides to this establishment, all things being legal as they are now declared, this is a great venue and I'm sure it'll [or has the potential] to fullfill both the owners commercial interest, and greater benefit to all charities or sporting organisations that come on board, like a 'Curraheen Park' for BINGO, if the metaphor can be applied.

Brussels Sprout

Heard a snippet of Prendeville this morning where he was reading out an e-mail chastising him for his pro-Rock Bingo stance. The person writing the e-mail said that the people running the Rock Bingo previously bankrupted another business (Cork Glass or something like that) with the loss of quite a number of jobs and a lot of money owed to creditors. They then spent a million euro renovating the warehouse to turn it into the Bingo Hall. This person said that they wished to remain annonymous but that they were a creditor who was owed a considerable amount of money.

joethelion

Brussels Sprout wrote: »

Heard a snippet of Prendeville this morning where he was reading out an e-mail chastising him for his pro-Rock Bingo stance. The person writing the e-mail said that the people running the Rock Bingo previously bankrupted another business (Cork Glass or something like that) with the loss of quite a number of jobs and a lot of money owed to creditors. They then spent a million euro renovating the warehouse to turn it into the Bingo Hall. This person said that they wished to remain annonymous but that they were a creditor who was owed a considerable amount of money.

Sounds like a tough one for all concered espicially staff & creditors,I'm sure the owners were out of pocket to.But i suppose they had to start again to like everyone else.I was there the other night & it really is a terrific venue so I wish them well.