Brown Snubs Bingo

Gordon Brown has dealt the world of bingo yet another cruel blow by neglecting to remove VAT from the fees bingo players pay to play their favourite game. The bingo industry had been hopeful that the Chancellor of the Exchequer would remove the VAT liability in a gesture that would have made it easier to cope with the looming ban on smoking in public places, but the would-be prime minister did no such thing.

Sir Peter Fry, Chairman of The Bingo Association in the UK, said: "It is simply ridiculous that bingo, one of the softest gaming activities, continues to pay this tax. The industry in Scotland is being decimated by the impact of the smoking ban, and clubs are closing all the time."

"The Chancellor had the chance to throw clubs a lifeline to get through the worst of the impact, giving them a long term future. His failure to act will condemn many small clubs to certain closure, with the loss of a valuable social amenity for many communities across Britain."

Bingo clubs are closing all over the United Kingdom. Ironically, the first club to close was in Brown's own constituency of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. You would be forgiven for thinking that this alone should have given the Chancellor good reason to look into the scandal of charging VAT on bingo, but unfortunately such common sense does not seem to have been applied.

"The Chancellor is clearly not listening to the industry or people who have already signed a petition calling for the Government to 'Stop Destroying My Bingo'," Sir Peter said. "Many of these players will lose the only place they feel comfortable going to on their own. The Government needs to act now, before it is too late.

"Within a space of a week Bingo has been ignored by the Prime Minister personally, rejected by Gordon Brown in his budget and denied a voice by the Downing Street website petition team. It is hard to fathom that politicians can have failed to hear what Bingo players and the industry are asking for. It is clear they are just not listening."