In recent times, many members of the public and elected representatives have proposed a tax on land based Bingo operators and there are measures afoot to hike the tax rate on the land based operators. As it is, because of the ban on smoking, Bingo halls across the country have been affected by dwindling membership. Bingo is a game whose patrons like to live it up and having a beer and a smoke while playing Bingo is indeed the done thing. Compounding the worries of the Bingo industry is the proposed tax hike that makes survival difficult for offline Bingo operators across the country.
Thus, it is a welcome sign that one elected MP (Member of Parliament) from Carshalton and Wallington, Tom Brake has come out in support of the industry and against the proposed tax hike. The measures that were introduced over the last 12 months have forced many Bingo halls to close down or move to other environments like Gibraltar in an effort to keep their businesses intact. The proposed tax hike from 15% to 22% is indeed against the interests of the industry and it is in this context that Mr. Brake’s decision to support the industry has to be welcomed by anyone who has an interest in seeing the industry flourish.
Mr. Brake has vehemently voiced his opposition to the proposed tax hike on the grounds that no other industry is being taxed at the rate being proposed. The bingo community is of the mindset that since other players in the gambling and betting industry are being taxed at a rate of 15% - the hike to 22% for land based bingo clubs just does not make sense. The proponents of the tax hike make the point that Bingo is an advanced form of gambling and that the revenues from the game are high enough for the Bingo halls to absorb the tax hike. What they seem to forget is unlike other sectors of the gambling industry like betting halls and casinos, Bingo is a game that is driven by volumes and hence the tax hike would affect the number of people participating in the game and this would be detrimental to the game.

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Source: bingoport.com