Welcome

Bingo is a game enjoyed by adults of all ages and although classified by law as a game of chance, it has been used to provide an enjoyable evening out; raise money for special causes; and in the classroom to teach vocabulary, mathematics, geography and so on.

Although UK Bingo clubs are currently regulated and licensed under the Gaming Act 1968, Bingo is widely acknowledged as being very much at the soft end of the gambling spectrum, in view of the environment and context in which it is played. More than two-in-three people presently playing bingo in licensed clubs do so for social reasons rather than financial gain. The social aspect of bingo means that for many communities the local bingo club is an important social facility, providing a safe and secure environment, especially for women, who are less inclined to enter more traditional social facilities, such as pubs and clubs un-accompanied.

The Bingo industry is an important, and often overlooked, sector of UK's economy, contributing over £261 million to the Exchequer in duty and VAT during 2002 and employing about 19,000 people. The burden of duty and VAT has been a contributory factor to the decline in the number of clubs, which stood at 699 in 2002. This is a burden felt particularly by the smaller, independent operators who represent over a third of the total number of clubs.

The Government's proposals for gambling reform were published in late 2003 / early 2004 by way of a Draft Gambling Bill, which was intensively reviewed by the Pre-Legislative Scrutiny Committee. The Committee's Report in April 2004 provided the basis for a number of changes to the Government's proposals which were set out in the DCMS response document issued in June 2004. A final Bill is expected to be laid before Parliament in Autumn 2004.