Mecca Bingo wants one Flat Tax Rate for All Gaming

by Karen Hill

The Rank Group, the name behind Mecca Bingo are asking for one flat tax rate for all forms of gaming instead of the current complicated tax system in place today.

Rank recently took HMCR to court over an unfair ruling on VAT they had to pay on games that were similar and they won the case, although not until HMCR appealed, appealed and appealed again until it was taken to the European courts, in which they won their final case.

The European fiscal neutrality law states that no two similar gaming machines can be treated in different ways – i.e. in the case of Mecca charging separate rates of VAT for them, which was the technicality that basically won them the case.

The gaming world had been watching and waiting on the outcome of the VAT case with the Rank Group and HMCR, so we would imagine lots more similar claims will be coming their way very soon and these could run into the millions. So it is no wonder HMCR’s fought this case with all their might, but this time the underdogs won!

Ian Burke, Rank’s Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, said, “The current taxation system had created ‘market distortion’. The Government has the opportunity to create jobs… by replacing the current patchwork quilt with a single tax at a single rate,”.

After their VAT win it looks like the Rank Group are now getting their teeth into the tax rating scheme and rightly so because this really has got to be one of the most un-fairest tax systems going where yet again the UK Government are charging tax differently for the same gaming products.

For example online bingo sites have to pay tax at 15%, but land based bingo clubs have to pay tax at a much higher rate of 20% – just how is that right and just? Also sports betting (on-course) is untaxed, but sports betting online is levied at 15%! Does not make sense at all!