Due to what the Bermuda Broadcasting Company admitted was a "glitch'', hundreds of people thought they had won the $100 grocery voucher up for grabs that night.

Meanwhile, sports and workmen's clubs are continuing their fight to shutdown Bingo operations run for private profit.

Operations such as American-style Freeport Bingo were cutting into as much as 20 percent of their profits from Bingo, which went towards funding youth and sports programmes, Southampton Rangers president Mr. Wayne Raynor claimed.

However, Freeport Bingo operators were planning to hold another big-money game in the Clocktower building last night.

And Bermuda Broadcasting Company officials said TV Bingo would be running for two months. Despite the first-night confusion, TV Bingo had "the biggest reaction of any game aired on our channels'', BBC marketing manager Mr. Ben Fairn said.

The confusion arose when News and Views host Mr. Rick Richardson found his phone lines jammed, but not with callers concerned about the talk show's topic for the night -- the breakdown of the family.

To free-up phone lines, puzzled ZBM programmers were forced to flash a message across screens telling people to "please stop calling'' about TV Bingo.

Fuming TV Bingo players, believing they had won the prize, turned to The Royal Gazette to complain.

And yesterday morning, BBC employees arrived at work to find studios filled with TV Bingo players waving winning-cards and demanding their prize.

"This is a rip off!,'' cried one of several players who called the newspaper.

Pembroke resident Ms Sharon Stevens said, "I've won a $100 gift voucher, but since I can't get through I've probably lost out.'' She had been trying to ring 295-2828 for half an hour without success.

Another player rang up saying, "It's disgraceful. They should put on a service and have several numbers to ring.'' And Smith's Parish resident Ms Cindy Madeiros said she had tried the number 31 times.

"They told us we had to call within 10 minutes to verify the numbers, but I can't get through on the number 295-2828,'' she complained.

Mr. Fairn conceded in a statement yesterday, "Hundreds of TV Bingo winners streamed into Bermuda Broadcasting Company studios to deliver their winning tickets.

"While organisers were busy trying to determine just why there were so many winners.'' Mr. Fairn said it was discovered that the Canadian suppliers of the game had failed to forward "a vital verification sheet which would have allowed the presenters to immediately determine just who had won''.

"In addition to this, the respective players were not instructed to discard their numbers after each segment,'' he said.

TV Bingo was launched on Monday night with two game segments.

After random numbers were called live in each of the game segments, players were supposed to cross them off on their cards, acquired from Market Place stores with the purchase of a "Bingo grocery item''.

If they did not get a bingo (a row of numbers), they should have discarded the numbers and started fresh with the next game segment.

To address the problem and calm irate players, BBC asked everyone who played the game on Monday and registered a Bingo to deliver their winning card to the studio or the MarketPlace outlets by 5 p.m. last night.

A live draw for a major prize winner and 11 $100 grocery vouchers was scheduled for tonight on TV 9.

The game of chance would continue for the next few months with a "modified format'', Mr. Fairn said.

"We must stress that the MarketPlace is not at fault in this matter and this company apologises for any inconvenience caused the sponsors and the general public,'' he said.

Mr. Raynor of Southampton Rangers said club presidents had brought up their concerns at a recent meeting with Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan.

He questioned the legality of Bingo operations being run outside sports and community clubs.

Freeport Bingo operators, who include restaurant owner Mr. Neil Inchcup, run games in Dockyard and possibly other non-club venues, he claimed.

Mr. Raynor said it was his understanding the Freeport operation was "basically illegal''.

Private individuals were not allowed to run Bingo games, he believed.

He added, "With the workmen's clubs, generally funds go back into the community to support youth programmes, but with them that's not the case.

"We have had meetings with the Premier and he has told us he is going to put the (legality) question to the Attorney General. We are currently awaiting a reply on the issue.'' A Police spokesman, however, said Bingo operations outside of clubs were apparently legal.

While the Liquor Licencing Act deemed any game of chance illegal, the one exemption was Bingo, the spokesman pointed out.