National Live - Players' Rules

Here are the full Players' Rules covering the National Live game effective from 30th November 2020.

The rules are also available to download in a printer-friendly document by clicking HERE

INTRODUCTION

We are the National Bingo Game Association Limited a company limited by guarantee, whose registered office is at Lexham House, 75 High Street North, Dunstable, Bedfordshire LU6 1JF (we, NBGA).

We are licenced by the Gambling Commission and organise games of bingo for participating licensed bingo clubs. These are The National Live Players’ Rules issued by the NBGA in November 2020. Unless otherwise stated by the Calling Club, these rules apply to the playing of linked games of bingo organised by us and played under the Gambling Act 2005. These rules supersede and replace all prior versions of the Player Rules issued by us for the playing of linked games of bingo.

In these rules where we refer to you, we mean each person who buys a ticket to play the Game and your shall be interpreted accordingly.

The club from where you play the Game will also have its own arrangements and rules applicable to your attendance at the club and the playing of other games in club and the purchase of boards and tickets to play bingo. These rules cover the playing of the Game in all clubs and supersede any house rules that might otherwise apply to the playing of games of linked bingo in your club.

Players should always gamble responsibly and play the Game within their limits. For more information and advice visit www.BeGambleAware.org.

1 DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS

In these Players’ Rules the following words shall have the following meanings:

Board: means an MCB board specific or approved by the NBGA on which a player may play the Game.

Calling Club:the participating club from time to time designated by the NBGA to:
(i) call the number which are to be used by all participating clubs in the playing of the Game
(ii) open and close the Game
(iii) declare the winners subject to the other provisions these rules

Claim: means a claim made by a player that his or her Board is a winning Board that entitles him or her to receive a prize on that playing of the Game.

Club Manager: means the person with overall responsibility for the day to day operation of the club at which you are playing and/or any members of staff at that club appointed to perform management functions. Members of Club Management may include one or more club manager from time to time.

EBT: means the electronic bingo terminal on which you may play the Game.

Game: means each linked game of bingo organised by the NBGA. The Game is a full house game of bingo but may be offered for a different game configuration specific by the the NBGA.

Game Price: means the amount charged to purchase a Board to play the Game

MCB or Mechanised Cash Bingo: means mechanised cash bingo equipment used for playing real bingo games

2 MINIMUM AGE TO PLAY

You must be at least 18 years old to play the Game.

3 GAME

The Game is played live for the prizes that are offered by the NBGA on that playing. The Calling Club will announce the available prizes(s) and the win criteria.

4 BOARDS

4.1 The Game can only be played using Boards supplied for the playing of the Game by the club at which you are playing.

4.2 You must pay the Game Price for each Board that you wish to play the Game with. The Game Price includes an amount known as the participation fee and the stake.

4.3 You may purchase Boards up until the lockout Call Number has been called at which point you will not be able to purchase additional Boards. Once purchased a Board cannot be cancelled or otherwise returned

4.4 Before the Game commences you should check that any EBT that you are intending to play with appears to be operating properly. If you encounter a problem with either you should immediately contact a member of staff at your club and return the EBT before playing of that Game.

4.5 You must operate your EBT in accordance with the user instructions and any directions given in your club so that it will properly mark off the number called on the display.

5 PRIZES

5.1 The club form where you play the will:

5.1.1 to display and/or announce:
(a) win criteria for all available prizes offered on that playing of the Game;
(b) an estimate of how much the prize will be for that playing of the Game, but subject to Rule 5.3.

5.2 If there is more than one winning Board for a prize and unless the NBGA have notified your club otherwise, the prize will be shared by the holders of the winning Boards equally.

5.3 Should your club fail to complete the playing of the Game, the available prize will be adjusted accordingly.

6 PLAYING THE GAME

6.1 The numbers to be called on each playing of the Game are generated from a random sequence of numbers and are called by the Calling Club.

6.2 Once the Calling Club has started to call the first syllable of a number, the calling of that number will be completed and that number becomes the last number called.

6.3 Occasionally there is a discrepancy between a number actually called and a number which should have been called. If this situation arises your club should stop the playing of that Game.

6.4 If the playing of a Game is required to be stoped, your club must take a decision to either continue with a house game or refund the Game Price for the disrupted Game. If your club decides to continue with a house game Rule 8 will apply. No further compensation payments are available for the failure to complete any Game.

6.5 If you believe you have a Claim it is your responsibility to immediately stop the playing of that Game in your club. You should do this by pressing the 'claim' button for the Board number that you are claiming on. On a Claim being made, your clubs should stop play while your Board is checked. Please note that you will lose any right to claim that prize if you fail to have the playing of that Game stopped before the caller has started to call the next number.

7 MAKING A CLAIM TO A PRIZE

7.1 All claims to be a winner of any prize offered on the Game are subject to scrutiny and verification by your club and by the NBGA . Any dispute as to whether a Claim was validly made or whether a Board is valid is subject to the NBGA’s Complaints Procedure provided for in Rule 10 below.

7.2 Having made a Claim, the Calling club will check whether that Claim is valid. If the Calling Club considers, for any reason, that a Claim is invalid or that there is a basis for dispute as to the validity of the Claim, it shall cause the playing of that Game to be re-opened and the calling of the numbers to continue until there are one or more subsequent Claims.

7.3 If more than one Claim is made for a prize and it transpires that a duplicate Board was in play, then, in the absence of dishonesty on the part of the player, the relevant prize will be paid in full to all winning Boards. If your club suspects dishonesty, the relevant prize may be withheld from the player who your club suspects may have acted dishonestly.

7.4 Subject always to Rules 7.6 and 7.7, prizes won on the playing of the Game, will be paid by the club where the successful Claim was made at the end of the Game session. However, larger cash prizes or if applicable, non-cash prizes, may be awarded at a later date. Your club will explain the process at the time of your win.

7.5 You will be required to sign a receipt for any prize you win on the playing of the Game.

7.6 Players must be over 18 years of age to play the Game and may be required to provide evidence to prove his or her age as a condition of receiving a prize. Such evidence can be an original passport or a driving licence with photo-card or other form of photographic identification acceptable to the Club Manager.

7.7 All Claims may be subject to additional scrutiny and verification by the NBGA which the NBGA will undertake within 14 days after the playing of the relevant Game. In determining the validity of any Claim the NBGA will follow a fair procedure so that:

7.7.1 The NBGA will undertake its own inspection and consider any information about the Claim provided by the Club Manager;

7.7.2 If the NBGA is minded to reject the Claim (even on win which a prize has been paid) it will write to the player in question informing him or her of any issues observed and inviting him or her to provide comments to the NBGA in writing within 7 days of receipt of the letter;

7.7.3 Provided the NBGA receives comments in writing from the player within such 7 day period, the NBGA will give due consideration to those comments in reaching its final decision;

7.7.4 The NBGA will issue its final decision within 28 days of the Game being played;

7.7.5 The NBGA may withhold the payment of any prizes while a Claim is being investigated under this Rule 7.7;

7.7.6 If within the 28 day period referred to in Rule 7.7.4 the NBGA concludes that a prize was won on an invalid Claim, it may require you to forfeit and/or repay that prize within 28 days.

7.7.7 The NBGA's decision will be binding on the player, subject to your rights under Rule 10.

8 PROBLEMS

8.1 Occasionally, because of circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the NBGA or the club that you are playing at (including, without limitation, acts of God, technical problems or equipment failure) we may consider it necessary to cancel or abandon the playing of a Game.

8.2 In these circumstances, the Club Manager may choose to play a house game instead of the Game using all the money collected at the club as stake on the Board(s) sold on the Game that was cancelled, abandoned or interrupted. The house game will be played under the club's house rules and will not be subject to these Players' Rules .

9 REDUCED LIABILITY OF THE NBGA

9.1 Subject to Rule 9.2:

9.1.1 if you win a a prize on the playing of the Game, neither the NBGA nor the club that you paid the Game Price to is liable for more than the cash equivalent value of the prize(s) that the NBGA determine to have been actually won on that Board.

9.1.2 if a Game is cancelled, abandoned for interrupted for any reason the total liability of both the NBGA and the club that you paid the Game Price to shall not together exceed the Game Price you paid to play the Game.

9.1.3 neither the NBGA nor any club shall have any liability to any person for any loss, charge, costs or damage, (including damage to reputation, loss of profit, or consequential loss or damage) arising from the playing of the Game by you; and

9.1.4 neither the NBGA nor any club shall have any liability to any person for any loss, charges, costs, expenses or other claims, for compensation arising out of a player's failure to comply with these Players' Rules.

9.2 Nothing in these Players’ Rules shall limit any liability which cannot legally be limited including, without limitation:

9.2.1 the liability of the NBGA or any club for death or personal injury caused by negligence;
9.2.2 fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
9.2.3 other rights available to you as a consumer.

9.3 No variation to these Player’s Rules is effective unless it is in writing and is displayed at the club you paid the Game Price to before the sale of Boards begins for the playing Game in question.

10 COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

10.1 We hope you do not have cause to complain about the operation of the Game but if you do, you should first try to resolve the matter informally with the Club Manager of your club at the time. If the Club Manager is unable to resolve the matter to your satisfaction you may escalate your complaint to the NBGA by emailing info@nationalbingo.co.uk or by writing to the NBGA at Lexham House, 75 High Street North, Luton, Beds. LU6 1JF who will endeavour to resolve the dispute within 14 days of receipt of your complaint. If neither the Club Manager nor the NBGA have been able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may further escalate the complaint to an independent dispute resolution provider, details fo which are available from the NBGA, your Club Manager to at www.ibas-uk.com

11 MISCELLANEOUS

11.1 Where the NBGA is required to exercise its discretion over any matter under these Players’ Rules, it shall exercise that discretion reasonably and in good faith. If you are not satisfied at the outcome of the NBGA’s decision you should exercise your rights under the Complaints Procedure explained at Rule 10.

11.2 The NBGA will only use any personal information provided by or about you for the purpose of organising and administering the Game or for crime prevention purposes.

11.3 Nothing in these Players’ Rules gives any right to any third party to enforce any provision under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise.

11.4 These Players’ Rules are subject to English law