UK Bingo Clubs Resisting The Economic Slide

Analysts from PwC believe bingo halls will escape the harsher impacts of the recession.

The UK's bingo industry is likely to avoid the most serious effects of the recession, despite recent financial blows such as the new 22 per cent tax rate.

After a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) indicated that the numbers game is better equipped to withstand the economic downturn than casinos and sports betting shops, bingo bosses in Bradford have claimed that the enduring appeal of the game will help it to survive.

Wayne Bousfield, manager of the Yorkshire city's Gala Bingo club, told the Telegraph and Argus: "People will still play bingo despite the recession because it's a release, a way out from the weekday woes and troubles and we've been cutting our prices."

In addition, there is a feeling that bingo firms may be over the worst already, having absorbed the impact of the smoking ban, the period of 'double taxation' and now the duty hike.

"We've gone through massive negative impacts recently, what with the smoking ban and the government deciding to tax our profits by 22 per cent," Bradford's Mecca Bingo general manager Tristan Allison told the newspaper.

According to PwC, bingo revenues are likely to fall by about five per cent this year as the industry shows resilience in comparison to gambling activities with higher stakes, such as casinos.