Budget Changes Slammed By Bingo Clubs

Mecca Bingo bosses unhappy with increase in bingo duty.

Bingo operators in the north-west have hit out at the government's recent decision to increase its taxation of the numbers game.

Chancellor Alistair Darling announced that bingo duty will be increased from 15 per cent to 22 per cent in his Budget statement last month, infuriating many bingo firms already struggling to absorb the impact of the economic downturn.

Craig Millar, area manager for Mecca Bingo in Lancashire and Merseyside, told the Wirral Globe that the tax changes represent "a major blow for our clubs and for the rest of the industry".

He continued: "We do not understand why the government continues to discriminate against the nation's bingo clubs, which play an important role in bringing people together in the communities."

According to the publication, approximately 90 bingo clubs have been forced to close in the UK since 2006, with the smoking ban also hitting revenues for operators.

Mecca Bingo is owned by the Rank Group, which recently announced that the new rate of bingo duty is likely to increase its annual tax bill by about £6 million.