A Rare Piece of Good News For the Bingo Industry

Posted on December 11th, 2009

Bingo in the UK has been hit hard by a combination of three factors which have contributed to the demise of many land based bingo clubs and halls across the country. The first blow was struck by the national smoking ban which resulted in a 60% drop in attendance at bingo halls. One study estimated that about 63% of all bingo players smoke so it is easy to see why the ban affected the bingo industry so adversely. The second factor contributing to bingo’s woes is the ongoing global recession. Massive job losses and cut backs have caused many bingo players to cut back on unnecessary expenses. Families are struggling to maintain a decent standard of living and entertainment expenses are usually the first ones to be cut from a family’s budget. The third blow was the imposition of a 22% tax. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling raised the tax on bingo from 15% to 22% last April making bingo the only form of gambling taxed at a higher rate.

The bingo industry lobbied the government hard to reduce the tax burden to be in line with what other gambling businesses pay. The bingo industry said the onerous taxation had cost the industry several million pounds and the number of bingo clubs in the UK fell from about 700 to 590. In a rare piece of good news for the bingo industry the Chancellor said that the tax on bingo will be reduced from 22% to 20% in the spring. Paul Talboys, the chief executive of the Bingo Association, stated, “We are pleased that the Treasury has listened and digested the actual ‘facts’ of bingo tax and revised the gross profit tax rate. But the reasons for its delayed implementation until the next Budget is not apparent and will mean that the much-needed benefit, particularly for smaller independent clubs, will not be felt until April 2010. I only hope that they can all make it.”

Meanwhile the internet bingo industry is thriving as a result of the land based bingo industry’s problems. Many bingo players are now playing from the comfort of home and keen competition has made internet bingo very attractive. Players are taking advantage of larger bingo bonuses and the free bingo bonuses offered by most bingo websites.  Smokers can puff away while playing their favorite game and the inexpensive bingo cards and huge jackpots and prizes have sent former land based players online in droves. At last summer’s bingo summit in London industry experts predicted that internet bingo would remain a growth industry despite the recession.