UK Bingo Industry Disappointed in Budget Announcement - 03-18-08

March 18 - It was a nail-biting week for the UK bingo industry in the days preceding Alistair Darling's national budget announcement on Thursday. The industry sincerely believed that Darling would heed their calls for the removal of a crippling double-taxation policy that is only imposed on the bingo industry in the UK - not even shared by sectors such as casinos and betting shops.

Under new UK gambling legislation, the local bingo industry needs to pay gross profit tax of 15%, as well as Value Added Tax of 17.5 %. As a result, many traditional bingo halls that form an integral part of the cultural landscape in the country have been forced to close down. A subsequent smoking ban on public places of entertainment has not helped the matter in the least. It is predicted that hundreds of bingo halls will be forced to close in the near future if the 'double whammy' taxation costs and smoking bans continue.

After petitioning the UK authorities, bingo industry leaders were confident that the new budget announced by Darling on Thursday would take their legitimate concerns into consideration. They were hoping that at least one tax charge would be dropped altogether, although they would have also been content with a percentage reduction.

Therefore, the industry reacted in disbelief when Darling announced an increase in Amusement Machine License Duty (AMLD) which will undoubtedly impact the UK bingo industry negatively.

In a statement after the budget announcement, the chief executive of Britain's Bingo Association said: "This is a slap in the face for bingo players across the country. There is no reason why they should continue to be penalized by double taxation when other gambling products only pay a single tax. The industry is struggling to deal with the combined impact of double taxation, the removal of gaming machines and the impact of the smoking ban."