Bingo halls face uncertain future

As many as one in three bingo halls faces closure, according to a report this week in the Financial Times.

A combination of people spending less when they come through the door and bingo halls having to pay high taxes, has seen overall revenues nosedive.

The Bingo Association, a lobbying group whose members operate more than 200 bingo halls, said that 170 of the UK's 476 clubs which make less than £70,000 in annual profits could shut within three years if the government failed to reduce the industry's tax burden.

“The current taxation regime is a disaster – when you consider that an average club employs around 30 people and probably needs to re-invest around £1m in capex in order to modernise and stay competitive then £70,000 profit is not much at all,” said Paul Talboys, chief executive of the Bingo Association, to FT.com. “The ones in trouble tend to be smaller bingo clubs which are much more entrenched in the local community.”

We at Bingo News think it would be very sad if local-run bingo halls went the way of the dinosaur, but this report by the FT does suggest it may be heading this way. Online bingo is clearly the future of bingo, but there is a place for local-run bingo halls in society, not least as safe communal areas for people from all walks of life to share their passion for bingo!

A full list of all UK bingo halls can be found here.

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