No tax cuts for Bingo halls

Another nail has been hammered into the coffin of the British bingo hall.

Despite a number of high-level discussions with representatives of the UK bingo industry the UK government has this week decided against reducing the value-added tax applied to the industry.

Bingo representatives had hoped for some concessions after government rulings on smoking and taxation in recent years has crippled the sector.

While the online industry continues to thrive there are concerns for the long-term viability of bingo halls across the UK, many of which are facing taxation levels of up to 32% while the government claims the average is around 25%.

The onslaught of the online bingo sector has taken away substantial player numbers from the off-line arena even though there has been significant investment in many bingo halls around the UK over the last few years.

There are serious concerns that the ongoing switch from off-line to online bingo sites, such as Foxybingo.com, would continue for some time to come unless bingo halls are allowed to operate on a level playing field. Not only is playing bingo one of the U.K.’s oldest pastimes but there are literally thousands of jobs on the line if the industry continues to suffer.

The UK government’s assessment that a reduction in the tax element will have no benefit to the medium and longer term viability of the off-line bingo sector is rather bizarre when you consider the additional investment which would become available if taxes were cut.

It is also worth remembering that bingo halls up and down the country are suffering from the smoking ban which has had a marked impact on attendance figures.

The reluctance of the Government to help out the land based bingo industry comes just days after Buckingham Bingo which operates 12 bingo clubs across the country revealed a drastic plunge in trading figures.

The company said they would have a pre-tax loss for the year of £88.7 million and that it is now being run as a “going concern”.

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