Small to Medium Bingo Halls Lose out to Government Policies

by Hollie Sanders

More and more small to medium sized bingo and social clubs are feeling the pinch from the smoking and taxation regulations imposed by the Government. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The bingo and social clubs that rely on slot machine revenue to supplement their income are now facing a really big problem, because the smokers who frequent the bingo clubs are all racing out between games to have a quick puff and the clubs are having to reduce the amount of slot machines they have and are just not receiving the same income.

To top that, the clubs are taxed at a VAT rate of 17.5% and Gross Profits Tax of 15% on every single pound that is generated from the slot machines. When these percentages are added up, it amounts to 32.5p per pound. This causing revenues to drop dramatically, and the lash back factor of more and more bingo clubs closing down will affect all kinds of social economic scenarios. Jobs will be lost, causing the unemployment rate to rise, bingo halls will be standing empty and people who have relied on those clubs for generations for their weekly or nightly entertainment will feel as though they have lost an old friend.