No Low Bingo Tax for UK

The UK government seems to be turning a blind eye once again to the desperate position that many land based bingo clubs seem to be finding themselves in, with the Parliament’s refusal to grade bingo games, thus bringing down taxation.

In a recent session in the UK Parliament, MP for Luton, Kelvin Hopkins asked whether it would not be more sensible to tax “the more dangerous forms of gambling to a higher level than the innocent forms of gambling like bingo”.

By grading bingo games as low on the scale of gambling entertainment, the idea would be to keep taxation levels from rising.

However, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Sarah McCarthy-Fry said that the treasury has had continued dialogue with the bingo industry on the impact of the tax regime and that the dialogue would continue.

She ruled out the option of grading bingo games saying: “I don’t think we’re in the position of grading what gambling is. We recognize the important part that bingo clubs play in the community and all these things are taken into account when decisions are made.”

In recent years, many land based bingo clubs have had to shut their doors due to a number of factors. The high tax regime, including a ”˜double taxation’ policy on the bingo industry, as well as no-smoking rules and the increased popularity of online bingo, have all taken their toll on local bingo halls. Many communities have been affected as local bingo halls were sometimes the only public place where residents could meet to have a good time.

The Member of Parliament for Shipley, Philip Davis, also questioned the logic of taxing the land based bingo industry 22%, when other forms of gambling, including online bingo, was only taxed 15%.

In reply to this question, the Secretary to the Treasury replied: “We value the bingo industry and recognize the important part that it plays in the community. I would remind him that 22% is the average across the gambling industry; that the effective tax rate in 2003 was 35%.”

In recent years, a large number of UK bingo players have discovered online bingo and prefer spending their money at these quality sites. The convenience of playing at any time of the day or night, coupled with the bigger jackpots and active chat rooms have all increased the success of online bingo, but contributed to the decrease in the number of British frequenting land based bingo halls.