14 January 2013

 

Gala rejoins Bingo Association to help fight for fairer tax regime

The Bingo Association is delighted to announce that Great Britain’s largest bingo operator with 138 clubs, Gala Bingo, has re-joined the Association with immediate effect.
Gala Bingo’s return marks a significant growth in the size of the Association, which had been operating without Gala as a Member since the company withdrew in 2008.

Gala Bingo adding their presence, the Association will be further stepping up its campaign to tackle the inequitable tax system levied on bingo. Bingo pays a 20% Gross Profit Tax (GPT) rate, while most other forms of gambling (including betting shops, high street arcades and even online bingo sites) pay a rate of 15%.

Tax burden remains the single biggest constraint on the financial viability of bingo clubs and a significant contributor to the closure of on average one club per month, as well as why more than 150 of the Great Britain’s bingo clubs remain vulnerable. At a time when the Government is about to levy an additional £9m per annum tax on the bingo sector through the introduction of Machine Games Duty (MGD), there is a strong need to reduce bingo GPT (as recently recommended by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee in Parliament). Despite this the Bingo Industry continues to innovate and move forward. 

To read full press release click here.