The Chancellor's taxes could shut bingo halls, warns top boss
By CITY & FINANCE REPORTER
Updated:
A tax raid by the Chancellor on gambling could force bingo clubs out of business, the boss of a betting group claims.
Bingo hall operators are increasingly fearful they will be caught up in a crackdown on the gambling sector in the Budget.
Speculation is mounting that Rachel Reeves is plotting to target betting firms as she scrambles to raise funds to pay for her lavish spending plans.
But Dominic Mansour, chief executive of Buzz Bingo, warned this would hit investment and even lead to the closure of bingo halls – costing jobs and robbing communities of a vital hub.
> DOMINIC MANSOUR: Bingo fosters community and Labour must not undercut it
Is bingo's number up?: Operators are increasingly fearful they will be caught up in a crackdown on the gambling sector in the Budget
Writing for the Daily Mail, he said: 'The real cost of higher taxes isn't just financial. When a bingo club closes, not only does a local employer disappear, but the community loses an important hub that has a role in tackling loneliness.
'It offers older and more vulnerable people somewhere to belong. It's one of the few genuinely intergenerational activities left, and in towns where many pubs, libraries and community centres have disappeared, that matters.'
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