Santutxu social bingo resumes after seven-month ban as Basque law reform pends

Older people at the Bonaparte centre in Bilbao's Santutxu district have resumed their bingo sessions after seven months without being able to hold them. The games are played with 20-cent cards, and participants describe them mainly as a form of entertainment. The reform of the Basque gambling law that would regulate social bingo is still awaiting approval.

The dispute dates to late February, when Ertzaintza officers attended the premises and warned that players could not play for money. According to those affected, holding the games again could have brought sanctions of up to €60,000, after a betting shop reported the activity for an alleged profit motive.

The issue reached the Basque parliament in April, when the Partido Popular presented a proposal to amend the Ley del Juego and give legal certainty to entities that organise bingo games with symbolic amounts. The initiative seeks to distinguish these recreational activities, held in social spaces and without economic exploitation, from those organised for commercial purposes.

At the Bonaparte centre, more than 200 retired people usually take part in the bingo activities, which were held twice a week. The sessions last about an hour and a half. "Con un euro nos tiramos toda la tarde," Gloria said, according to the report.

The report states that the future regulation will have to clarify these conditions to prevent situations such as the one in Santutxu from recurring and to offer legal certainty to the centres that organise these activities. Until then, social bingo remains caught between the demand from older people to recover their games and the need to establish clear rules distinguishing non-profit entertainment from commercial exploitation of gambling.