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LAND BINGO FIRMS IN TROUBLE
Britain's new anti-smoking and gambling regulations blamed
More UK bingo fans could find their way online as land bingo sites feel the pressure of new anti-smoking and gambling regulations.
This week the major London-listed bingo company Top Ten Bingo posted a slump in pre-tax profits of GBP 465 000, from GBP 846 000 in the same period last year to GBP 381 000 for the six months to September 30. The land bingo operator is the third largest in the UK with 38 bingo clubs and cited the smoking ban and the UK's new gambling legislation tax regime as factors, warning that 'difficult' market conditions would persist through the second half.
Commenting on the results chairman Sir Aubrey Brocklebank said: "Despite our considerable preparation for the smoking ban and introduction of the Gambling Act our business has still felt the impact that the combination of this unprecedented change has caused."
Top Ten also operates online through Globalcom-managed Top Ten Bingo.com, a website powered by software from Brigend Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cassava Enterprises (Gibraltar) Limited.
In the same week, Riva Gaming's chief executive Simon Hannah warned in the Financial Times that as many as a hundred UK land bingo clubs could close within the next six months if taxation on the industry is not changed. He warned that the 'double taxation' imposed by the combined VAT and gross profit tax is putting the industry at a significant commercial disadvantage.
"Where betting shops and casinos only pay 15 percent gross profit tax, we must also pay 17.5 percent VAT on our bingo income, putting us at a significant commercial disadvantage," the bingo company executive said.
Riva is one of the most technologically progressive of the bingo operators in the UK, introducing electronic bingo innovations earlier this year (see previous InfoPowa report.)
The industry is meeting with government to discuss the matter this week.
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