Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The amendments the Minister of State has mentioned state that the holder of the gaming permit has to display the prize money or prize on the ticket. It is my understanding that it is not possible to do so for bingo games. I take the advice of Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and others who say that the prizes given in a bingo hall are determined by the number of people who attend. It is a long time since I was at bingo but my understanding was that there was a given prize per line, box and page. That was set before people attended and they knew what it was every night. The crowd attending determined how much profit was made on the night. If there was a big crowd, the organisers did well and, if there was a small crowd, they did poorly. That brings us to the issue, to which we will come later, of the amount that can be given out in prizes. That is the core of the matter. It probably would be possible to print what the prizes are on the front of each bingo book. Apart from that, the amendments provide that a large sign setting out the prize money would be displayed at the door or as one enters the premises. Perhaps things have changed but it is not my experience that the prizes change every night. The prizes set for a bingo hall are standard every time one goes. I hope that remains the case. It would be very useful if the Minister of State could provide clarity on that issue.

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