Chancellor Alistair Darling Facing Voodoo Flak For Bingo Tax Hike

July 10th, 2009

Public sentiment has been grossly unfavorable towards Chancellor Alistair Darling ever since he increased the tax rate on bingo from 15% to 22% in this year’s April budget. While the Chancellor argued that as VAT on bingo has been completely done away with, the move would only inject the industry with some much needed liquidity. However, bingo operators have been crying hoarse and literally screaming out their opposition to the government’s move to tax them at 22%. They contend that while other gaming operators enjoy 15%, bingo should be accorded the same treatment. VAT was even previously exempted on many bingo games. So post the hike these games would be grossly overtaxed, hugely impacting their bottom lines.

Protests have been happening far and wide against the hike. But most of the angst of the protestors is aimed at the Chancellor, as the human face of the entire malady. Even during the recent protests by bingo lovers in the greens outside the Westminster, many protestors wore masks designed to look like Mr. Darling and played a mock game of bingo to illustrate their point. Many placards openly referred to Mr. Darling as being the one solely responsible for the tax hike, including some really colorful ones like, “ Two Little Ducks-you must be quackers Darling!”(referring to the 22% tax rate in true Bingo jargon).

In a separate protest by Mecca Bingo lovers in Chester, players came together to make little voodoo dolls of Alistair Darling. They then poked little needles on the back of the dolls to symbolically demonstrate the ‘stab in the back’. 73 year old bingo enthusiast Margaret Knowles was one of the protestors, visibly disappointed by the negative stand taken by the Chancellor on the issue. She proclaimed, “”Alistair Darling is stabbing people in the back. Now we want him to know how it feels.” The mini voodoo dolls have a small depiction of Mr. Darling’s face. With protestors running out of ideas to get their point across, more and more innovative methods are being harnessed by bingo lovers to convince the government.

The bingo industry is one of the largest gaming industries in the UK, employing more than 17000 people. However, over the last three years things have been going downhill-what with the advent of faster paced casino style online bingo games and a change in the traditional attitude of the people as such towards the game, more than 90 bingo halls have had to close down. The recently introduced smoking ban and the changes made to the Gambling Act too have had negative impact on the game. Under such dismal circumstances, the tax hike could break the spirits of the ailing bingo clubs sending them on an even faster downward spiral.

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Chancellor Alistair Darling Facing Voodoo Flak For Bingo Tax Hike

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