Why bridge IS a sport: It gives the brain a workout

IT is a game that can be played without leaving the comfort of your seat – and may conjure up images of whiling away an afternoon with a glass of sherry.

But bridge should be considered a sport, Europe’s top legal adviser has said – because of the huge mental exertion it requires.

The intervention is a victory for the legions of British fans of the card game, who have been locked in a lengthy legal row with the taxman about the pastime’s status. For the lawyer’s ruling is likely to spell the way for the European Court of Justice to declare bridge a sport once and for all.

The English Bridge Union had tried to get the four-person game recognised as a sport by funding body Sport England so it would not have to pay VAT on tournament entrance fees.

It brought a case against HMRC to reclaim VAT payments thought to be worth millions, but in 2014 a tribunal said the activity was not gruelling enough, with Judge Charles Hellier concluding: ‘To our minds, sport normally con- notes a game with an athletic element, rather than simply a game.’

The following year the High Court backed that ruling.

But the case was then referred to the European Court of Justice – and its advocate general said yesterday that bridge can be considered a sport because it requires ‘considerable mental effort’.

Maciej Szpunar said a sport had to involve ‘training of mental or physical fitness in a way that is generally beneficial to the health and the well-being of citizens’. He dismissed the suggestion that it is not physical enough, adding that it is ‘sufficient the activity has a significant mental element which is material to its outcome’.

He also said that the level of training and skill shown by bridge players is a huge factor in who wins tournaments.

While not binding, Mr Szpunar’s legal ‘opinion’ will be a key factor taken into account by ECJ judges when they hear the case.

Around 300,000 Britons regularly play bridge, and famous fans have included Winston Churchill, Omar Sharif and Bill Gates. It involves pairs of players making predictions, or ‘bids’, on how many tricks they think they can win in each round. They then try to achieve their bid, while the other team attempts to stop them.

The EBU brought the case to reclaim VAT on contest fees from 2008 to 2011. In a single year entry payments can reach £631,000.

It had argued bridge can stave off health issues such as Alzheimer’s. It also pointed out that other less physical activities such as model aircraft flying and darts were considered sports by Sport England. Meanwhile bridge is recognised as a sport by the International Olympic Committee and in a string of countries including Belgium, Denmark and France.

EBU chairman Jeremy Dhondy said he was ‘delighted’ by Mr Szpunar’s decision, adding: ‘I very much hope it will be upheld by the judges who hear the case.

‘It is a vindication of our view that bridge should be regarded as a sport with all the advantages that brings both for bridge as a game and also for our members and prospective members.’

Once the ECJ makes a ruling, it is up to British courts to decide how to interpret this and ultimately to decide on bridge’s status.

But fans of other card games should not be hopeful VAT exception may extend to them, for Mr Szpunar said unlike bridge these are just ‘games of chance’ requiring ‘no mental or physical skill’.