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The long awaited announcement by the Bingo industry was finally made on Wednesday by Governments sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe. He issued a press release stating that the Government would now increase the number of £500 jackpot slot machines bingo halls were allowed to house on their premises, from four to eight. This was much welcomed news for bingo club owners throughout the country, but you still have to ask yourself the question, is it enough to help the ailing bingo industry as a whole?!
This U turn, is a step in the right direction by the government, but much more could still be done. An unprecedented amount of bingo halls have closed their doors for the last time over the past year, the decline in bingo halls started about four years ago, but the past year has seen a record amount of bingo clubs shut. There used to be over 700 bingo halls situated throughout the UK, but this number has now been reduced to around the 600 mark. Gala Bingo and Mecca Bingo own around 270 bingo clubs between them, but despite this announcement, Ranks shares still took another fall on Wednesday.
Gerry Sutcliffe made a statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday, citing the fact that this move by the government was a one of measure, which is designed to try and help the bingo industry, due to the fact that 15% of bingo halls have closed down over the past four years throughout the country. He also went on to say, “Bingo clubs play a crucial role in many communities and we want to see that continue. For some people, especially older and retired women, bingo is their main leisure pursuit. It is therefore of great concern that nearly 100 bingo clubs have closed in the last four years,”
The Bingo Associations Chief Executive Paul Tallboys had this to say about Sutcliffe’s announcement, “We believe today's announcement will go some way to addressing the adverse position bingo operates under and will help ensure that bingo remains part of the social and leisure landscape in the UK.”
It has been said that opposition MP’s criticised the move, saying the government should be offering the bingo industry tax breaks instead and I couldn’t agree with them more, for once! Bingo is the only sector within the gaming industry that has a grossly unfair double taxation burden placed upon it. The more bingo hall closures there are, the more the treasury is set to lose, it is estimated that for each bingo hall closure they will lose around £700,000 per annum.
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