Please gamble responsibly.
by Penny Walker
The bingo world is treated unfairly by the UK government, according to a politician north of the border.
Stewart Hosie, Scottish National Party (SNP) Treasury spokesperson, has written a letter to Treasury minister Angela Eagle, urging her to remove the double taxation currently experienced by the numbers game industry.
At present, bingo club revenues are subjected to both gross profits tax and VAT, unlike other gambling firms such as casinos.
Mr Hosie said in a statement: "Licensed bingo remains the only gambling product subject to double taxation, which results in an effective tax rate of 28.2 per cent compared with 15 per cent for most other gambling products."
Hundreds of bingo halls have had to close in the last five years and the SNP representative wants to give the sector a boost.
Trade group for the industry, the Bingo Association, called on chancellor Alistair Darling to remove the double taxation in his Budget earlier this year, but it was ultimately to no avail.