Relief for Bingo Operators

UK bingo operators have been experiencing financial difficulties for several reasons. First there is the smoking ban which keeps many regulars away from the land based bingo halls. Second, there is the limit on high payout fruit machines which has resulted in lower revenues for the operators. And third, there is the tax situation. Bingo operators pay both the 15% gaming tax and the VAT of 17.5%.

Gala Coral Gala Bingo and Rank Mecca Bingo spearheaded a movement to lobby for tax relief. The effort to bring about tax relief now has the support of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and there is pressure of Alistar Darling to work for tax relief. The two UK bingo operators account for almost half of the bingo halls and say they only want the same tax treatment that other gambling entities have. Many of their customers are elderly pensioners who are unfairly burdened by the tax situation.

If 2008 brings the closure of more bingo halls across the countries, many communities will lose their social gathering places. The government feels that the bingo halls face more problems than can be solved by tax relief alone. They are facing more financial difficulties from the smoking ban and the fruit machines limit than they are from the double taxation problem, but the government admits that tax relief will help the industry. Rank is trying to attract the younger people to bingo through its online operations and by sponsoring a television bingo game.

They hope than some of these people will decide to play in land-based halls. Mecca Bingo has even had minister Charles Clarke act as a bingo caller in its Norwich club to highlight the tax situation and the fact that bingo is a soft form of gambling that provides revenues for the Treasury.