The State of Bingo in the United Kingdom

The state of bingo in the United Kingdom is not good. Bingo operators in the United Kingdom are having problems with their land-based operations. They were hit hard by the new regulations which limited the number of high paying fruit machines to four per establishments.

In addition, there is the smoking ban and the tax situation with the profits tax and the value added tax. They are the only segments of the gaming sector that is double taxed. The situation in the bingo industry has force the closure of more than ninety bingo clubs. Many players have switched to online play so the online bingo sector is growing and thriving.

A movement to remove the VAT on bingo is being spearheaded in the district of Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. The movement began with an online petition to save the bingo industry. The petition was set up on Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s website and has more than nine hundred signatures so far. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is expected to discuss the taxes on the gaming industry in his message on the budget, scheduled for March 12. More bingo clubs can be expected to close without some form of relief.

There is pressure on Chancellor Darling to eliminate the double tax. Last November, he was given a petition signed by more than sixty lawmakers, some from his own party, to review the situation involving the taxation of bingo. Bingo is very popular in the United Kingdom and for many people represents their only out of the house outing and socialization. If present conditions are changed, many people will be without their social outing at the local bingo hall.

Posted: February 18, 2008
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