The Minister in charge of gambling in the UK, Gerry Sutcliffe has said that he is about to publish a report that will assist the ailing land-based bingo industry in the UK. He was addressing the Annual General Meeting of the Bingo Association. He hasn’t said anything about the form that these measures will take but he hinted that regulations may be introduced to increase the number of ₤500 jackpot slot machines that bingo operators are allowed to have on the premises.
It doesn’t appear that they will be addressing the double taxation issue, but we shall have to wait and see exactly what transpires. The UK bingo industry is still trying to get over the fact that the Chancellor of the Exchequer did not remove VAT from bingo in the last budget. But Paul Talboys, CEO of the Bingo Association said that he was optimistic that Minister Sutcliffe appeared to have a valid interest in the plight of the bingo industry.
In 2005, 189 bingo clubs were identified as being at danger of closing and of these 81 have closed to date. The Bingo Association has calculated that for each bingo club closure the Exchequer looses ₤700 000 annually across a range of taxes, not to mention that loss suffered by community members when a bingo club closes down.
Tags: 189 bingo clubs, gambling in the UK, jackpot slot machines