Bingo Plaza... next to McDonalds

I bet you have often walked past bars in Benidorm with boards advertising "Eyes Down" and wondered why they don´t call it bingo... which is what it is. The reason is that it is illegal to gamble in Spain outside of authorized establishments. The bars hope that by writing "eyes down" it will fool the police - sometimes it works and other times not.

Located directly opposite huge rubber tree

If you fancy a flutter you use to be able to go to the Casino Mediterraneo in Villa Joyosa, but unfortunately that closed down some years ago and the nearest branch is now in Alicante. Closer to home however you can pop into Bingo Plaza - which is located next to McDonalds on the Plaza Hispanidad, otherwise referred to as The Triangle, where the huge rubber tree is. I have passed it numerous times over the years and never ventured inside, until yesterday.

It is open every day from 2pm until 2am - and on Friday and Saturday it stays open until 3am. Just like a casino you have to be over the age of 18 to enter and show photographic ID, it is best to take your passport. The number is recorded and you are then allowed to enter, which is free (the casino in Alicante charge 3 euros entry). You have to wait until the enter light above the door lights up... they do not allow you to enter whilst a game is in progress.

Plush foyer and reception area

What I did find rather strange is that they are not allowed to advertise what the prize money is outside of the building. In the UK, places such as Gala Bingo have huge billboards plastered up with the jackpot prize, but here in Spain it is not allowed. It is not until you enter the huge hall that you can see the prize money advertised on screens around the room.

Now I have never been to a bingo hall in the UK so have nothing to compare it to, but I was quite shocked as to how large and plush it was inside. It has a seating capacity for 600, spread across 100 round tables. Each table has 6 chairs and set flush into the middle of the table is an led monitor so that you can follow the progress of the numbers as they are called. Each table has marker pens so you don´t need to worry about bringing your own pens.

One side of the bingo hall....

I settled in comfortably and just took some time to get use to what was going on. Each game lasts about 5 minutes - there are prizes for 1 complete line (5 numbers)  then onto a full house. There are between 10 and 12 games per hour, so as you can tell its quite fast paced! The numbers are called in Spanish and if you are not familiar with the language just watch the screen. I am but still found it easier to watch the screen in the middle of the table. When you have a complete line you shout "linea" or "line" and hold up your hand. Someone will come to you and leave a marker on your table then the game continues till full house is called. You are given your prize money there and then in cash at the end of the game. If there is more than one winner then the prize pot is shared, which I believe is the same as in the UK.

It wasn´t that busy yesterday afternoon, perhaps 150 - but apparently the evenings and weekends get very busy. People come and go after each game as they please. The prize money is dependent on how many people are playing... the more people the bigger the prize pot. Whilst I was there 1 line won around 15 euros and a full house was just under 90 euros.... but as I said in the evenings when busier it would be a lot more. Throughout the day they also have extra bonus jackpots... for instance, the first game of each day has a full house bonus of 1000 euros on top of the normal win - this is to entice people to come when it first opens at 2pm.

Before the start of each game an attendant will walk around the room selling bingo cards for that game. One card costs 1.50 euro but there are some bonus games which are 2 euros each ... these obviously have bigger prizes. You can play as many cards as you want per game, but to be honest I struggled with just 1 card! The lady at the next table always played 3 cards, must have been her lucky number - and her hand did go up quite a few times for wins. After the game has finished the attendants walk around again for the next game... you can play as often as you want.

Gambling arcade area

On each table you will also find a button to summon a waiter to order drinks and there is even an option to eat there. I couldn´t believe how cheap it was either. During the day a 3 course menu del dia is 3.60 euro which includes a drink and in the evening it is only 3 euros. You can also order a sandwich which comes with chips and a drink for 4 euros - the prices are heavily subsidised to keep you there I think and the food is bought to you so you don´t even have to leave your table!

Next to the bingo hall is a gambling arcade with various slot machines and electronic bingo. They are also about to open, hopefully by the end of this year the "Sportsbook Room" - basically a betting shop. There are screen up on the walls showing horse racing, greyhound racing and football and you can place bets on the winners.

It was certainly a fun afternoon.... next time I´ll go with a girlfriend and in the evening - when there´s more lolly to win! Although the clients were predominantly Spanish, there are also many Portuguese, French, British and Dutch visitors that go... and with the emerging Russian market another nationality to add to that list. If you do plan on going remember to take ID otherwise you won´t be allowed in.