{"id":3339,"date":"2020-09-08T08:28:45","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T08:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newbingosites.co\/?page_id=3339"},"modified":"2021-09-10T17:56:53","modified_gmt":"2021-09-10T17:56:53","slug":"bingo-cheating-scandals","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.newbingosites.co\/articles\/bingo-cheating-scandals\/","title":{"rendered":"Bingo Cheating Scandals – Bingo’s Biggest Known Crooks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Credit: Shannon Palmer\/Flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s known to us all worldwide, where there’s a game, there might also lurk a cheat…<\/p>\n

Whether it be at sports, cards, bingo, or board games, or even at the simple egg and spoon race at school – there is often a player who might try and ‘bend’ the rules slightly to their advantage shall we say, in the hopes of cheating the system and walking away with the prize.<\/p>\n

You probably wouldn’t think it possible to cheat at something like a game of bingo however, as tickets and numbers are always generated at complete random. Plus the industry as a whole also prides itself on always encouraging fair and responsible play as well, so how is it even possible to ‘make up’ your own rules?<\/p>\n

Well, unfortunately there are a few people out there who thought it might be interesting to try, and they ended up causing quite a scandal across the globe in the process. Not all cases of cheating when it comes to bingo have been reported obviously, and who knows – there may even be some people out there who have gotten away with it from time to time?<\/p>\n

Here are a few cases that didn’t end up running so smoothly however, wherein ‘a prize’ was extremely far from what they actually ended up winning…<\/p>\n

Church Bingo Ends In Sticky Tape Scandal<\/h2>\n
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Credit: Megan Young\/Flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What would have usually been just a regular weekly bingo night at a church in New Jersey in 2019, actually ended up in a police call-out resulting in charges.<\/p>\n

The New York Post<\/a> reported that Teresa Davis, 71, and Keasha Brockington, 38, claimed to have won a $200 prize on a game of bingo at their local church hall in Runnemede, NJ.<\/p>\n

After much speculation however into the supposed winning ticket, it was discovered that the women had allegedly taped over the original digits with the winning numbers and made a fraudulent claim.<\/p>\n

The Pastor of the church, Rev. Joseph Ganiel told the post that he had trained any volunteers to screen bingo cards for this very reason.<\/p>\n

He said:<\/p>\n

I tell them to look for anything that has tape on it. If it has tape, they should hold it up to the light to see if the same number is on the front and the back.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Police were soon called, and both women were charged with improper behaviour and released on their recognizance. It\u2019s unclear what punishment the women then faced for their alleged misdeed however.<\/p>\n

Pastor Ganiel said it\u2019s the first time in 20 years there had been a scandal at the church\u2019s typically innocuous games.<\/p>\n

A very ‘unholy’ turn of events indeed.<\/p>\n

10K In Rigged Bingo Leads To Arrest For Caller<\/h2>\n
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Credit: jobsforfelons\/Flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In December 2019, the luck finally ran out for John Cook from Monroe, Louisiana, USA. Cook was arrested and charged on one count of felony, after being accused of rigging over $10,000 in prize funds on bingo games at his local bingo hall.<\/p>\n

According to an article in News Star<\/a>, 43-year old Cook was found guilty on camera of manipulating ‘Bingo Bonanza’ games. Footage allegedly caught him handpicking the balls he wanted to play, and then hiding the winning one until he was ready to end the game.<\/p>\n

Cook supposedly did this four times resulting in over 10K of prize funds, and one person who won twice, turned out to be his own sister. Another winner was also captured speaking to Cook before their game took place, and both other winners were seen giving Cook money after the winning games concluded. He was eventually charged with theft between $10,000 and $25,000, and bail was set at $11,000.<\/p>\n

It’s unknown how long Cook then remained in custody.<\/p>\n

Skulduggery Occurs Across Charity Bingo<\/h2>\n
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Credit: airpix\/Flickr.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to an article found in the American news feature Fort Worth Weekly<\/a>, even charity bingo games are no stranger to fraudulent goings-on.<\/p>\n

In the late 1970’s, Tennessee lawmakers legalized charity bingo in the US, but numerous scams, bribes, extortions and fraudulent activities, soon then plagued the charity bingo scene.<\/p>\n

Governors were suddenly bribed, and heads of state were found of implicating fraud. Bingo halls were tipped off about audits, and legitimate charity organisations were receiving very little of the money. Two representatives also allegedly committed suicide as well, apparently over fraudulent claims and charity bingo scams.<\/p>\n

Other American charity bingo scams include:<\/p>\n