Will UK Bingo Tax Reforms Take Place?

It appears that there might be some hope of bingo tax reforms in the 2008 UK budget, as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport lends their support to bingo industry leaders Rank (Mecca Bingo) and Coral Groups (Gala Bingo).

This comes about following on the bingo industry's ongoing lobbying regarding the severe toll that the effects of the smoking ban, new Gambling Act, ageing customer base, and many other prevailing conditions in the industry, that might lead to the ruin of one of the UK's most beloved pastimes.

Bingo companies are currently being taxed twice, unlike the other "harder" gambling activities, and with the dramatic changes in the laws that have affected the UK bingo industry during 2007, the additional burden of the tax discrimination has really been the cherry on the cake in terms of revenue losses. It is expected that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is going to apply pressure to Alistair Darling to take a specific look at tax breaks for the bingo industry before the 2008 budget is released.

The message that the bingo industry is trying to get across to the Government is that if bingo is taxed in line with other gambling activities there will be additional income to use to market an increase in admissions. However, it appears that the Treasury department believes the bingo industry is not going to recover, even if given the tax breaks and predicts that 100 bingo clubs will close during 2008.