A group of pensioners who have been deprived of their bingo afternoon because of gambling and alcohol regulations have found a way around the ban, the AD reported.

The pensioners, who gather every month at community centre The Klarinet in Soest are unhappy the council has issued a bingo ban because alcohol is served at the same venue.

“It’s not as if everybody is on the booze during the bingo. People have the occasional glass of wine, that’s all,” organiser Petra Schouten told the paper.

No cafes or community centres where alcohol is served are allowed to host gambling events, which bingo is considered to be, even if the event itself is teetotal.

For many elderly people bingo afternoons are the only outing they have, Schouten said. “What are they supposed to do, sit behind the geraniums?”, she said, referring to the Dutch shorthand for the bored and lonely elderly.

The group have now found a way around the ban by shouting “geranium!”  instead of ‘Bingo!” when getting a full card to foil inspectors.

“The rules have been changed a bit but it’s sort of the same game but it’s the message that counts,” the organisers said. “We just want this group to continue to meet up and and we won’t give that up.

Local mayor Rob Metz says he is now going to raise the issue with government officials.