Gala Bingo Festivities
It has been a rocky bingo road for Gala Bingo throughout 2009, but they will be ending this year off on an online bingo high for their players. Money might be tight on the business front, but this will not stop Gala Bingo guaranteeing to give away £150,000 in the run up to Christmas.
This year has not been great for the bingo industry as a whole. In the 2009 budget bingo was hit hard with news of the bingo tax hike from 15% to 22%. So the UK Government gave in one hand by abolishing the absurd double (VAT / Tax) law and took back in the other by rising bingo tax by 7%.
Many smaller land based bingo clubs fell under the radar of the double taxation law, so the rise in bingo tax duty really did hit them where it hurts. The bingo industry did not take news of the shift in tax on them lightly with many bingo operators joining forces to fight this new regime.
Bingo players also descended on Parliament earlier in the year to show their support for the bingo industry in their plight and a petition was even set up on the 10 Downing Street website.
Due to many factors land based bingo clubs throughout the UK have been on the decline for the past three years. This has left many towns and cities with either much reduced bingo playing facilities or none at all. The definition of (out local bingo clubs) also seems to be becoming a thing of the past with many bingo players now having to travel miles to their nearest bingo hall, instead of just around the corner.
The game of online bingo has taken bingo players by storm and with broadband now being available in most UK homes, bingo online is even more accessible than ever. It has to be said that online bingo has played a part in the decline of UK bingo clubs as there has been a noticeable shift in how people now play bingo.
We can only hope that 2010 proves to be a more stable year for our much loved UK bingo halls because none of us want to see any more of them close down as they remain a vital part of many communities.
