Most of us who play bingo whether land based or online bingo would find it hard to imagine hardened prisoners playing any kind of bingo. In what has to be one of the strangest stories of the year, one prison in the UK has proposed spending £5,000 ($7,034 US dollars) to fund bingo prizes for sex offenders. Although prisons in the UK are known to be much more liberal than those in the United States most find it hard to understand the thinking behind this proposed policy.

The funds have been set aside for quizzes and bingo at Whatton Jail, near Bingham, Notts, which houses male sex offenders. The proposed funds would provide prizes of up to £3 ($4.22 USD) for 761 inmates for a year. The money is part of the prison’s £7.5 ($10,555,747 USD) yearly budget.

Peter Chapple of the Prison Officers’ Association said, “We would always support any activity which was to help rehabilitate offenders but in the current climate of cost-cutting we don’t believe this is a good use of public money. A better use of £5,000 ($7,036 USD) a year would be something which either teaches, or trains other prisoners to teach prisoners to read. That kind of money would train 66 prisoners to teach others to read.”

Another prison service spokesperson had this to say, “Sex offender treatment programmes are tough regimes that force the prisoners to face up to their crimes and understand the impact it has had on their victims. Staff at the prison came up with the idea of running some sessions of bingo and other activities as part of the prisoners’ wider rehabilitation.”

As if all this wasn’t bad enough the Sun newspaper reported that £15,000 ($21,138 USD) has been set aside at Colnbrook Immigration Centre in Berkshire for bingo competition prizes! The Sun also claims that £50,000 ($70,464 USD) was spent last year on bingo prizes. The facility houses prisoners awaiting deportation. The article quoted one informant as saying, “It’s a huge hit with all the foreigners - with up to five games in an evening.”

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said he would investigate the Sun’s claims but stated that the center had to “humane environment for detainees before they are removed from Britain.” Many feel the Sun sensationalized the story describing the inmates as ‘rapists and murderers’ but officials say that most of the inmates have no criminal record at all.

It is hard to understand the thinking behind these policies for most bingo players. Although gambling in prisons is common officially sanctioned gambling is not. At least they didn’t have access to online bingo where they could have won some real money!