Tag Archives: industry
Internet Bingo Keeps on Growing Despite Recession
The past few years have not been good ones for the brick and mortar bingo industry in the UK. `The passage of the unpopular national smoking ban and a drastic rise in taxation combined to cause economic turmoil throughout the UK bingo industry. Bingo is now the most highly taxed form of gambling in the UK and despite the recent lowering of the tax rate by 2% the land based bingo industry remains economically strapped. The global recession has also adversely affected the bingo industry as people look for inexpensive entertainment.
The internet bingo industry has benefited from the troubles of land based bingo and a recent report by the UK Gambling commission stated that internet bingo sales have increased 4.6% during the past year. The recent boom in the internet bingo industry shows no signs of slowing down and internet bingo sites are engaged in fierce competition for players. Bonuses and jackpots that would have been unheard of just a few years ago are now the norm. Jackpots of £20,000 ($32,341 USD) and more are increasingly common on internet bingo websites.
The fact that UK internet bingo websites are regulated and licensed has contributed to the popularity of internet bingo. Internet bingo players in the UK are guaranteed a safe playing experience and can be confident their funds are secure. Many internet bingo websites now offer free bingo for cash and prizes in an attempt to attract new players. All of these perks and inducements by internet bingo sites seem to be working judging by recent sales figures.
In addition to government actions which have made internet bingo much safer for UK players. Bingo websites are engaged in some serious competition. Many sites are offering more promotions and original games. Many of these games offer players significant bingo bonuses and sites will send players an email with a bingo bonus code for special games. Many sites have increased the size of their bingo sign bonus and bingo sign up bonuses of 300% are common. Players can now comparison shop for the best bingo bonus and take advantage of the very generous bingo bonuses offered by many bingo websites. As the competition gets more intense bingo sites are responding with larger jackpots and better than ever bingo bonuses.
Should the US make internet bingo legal the internet bingo industry is set to explode. The addition of millions of relatively affluent American players will make internet bingo one of the most profitable sectors of the internet gaming industry.
How Will the 2010 UK Elections Affect Internet Bingo?
The 2010 elections in the UK brought about a partial victory for the Conservative Party and Prime Minister Gordon Brown tendered his resignation ending 13 years of Labour rule and paving the way for David Cameron to become Prime Minister. The Conservatives are still twenty seats short of the 326 seats needed for a majority. The gaming industry including the internet bingo industry is waiting for the mini manifesto promised to the gaming industry. Will the new Conservative government be better for online bingo? No one seems to know for sure.
Traditionally Conservatives have viewed gaming as an industry that needs to be controlled by limiting supply and marketing efforts and tight regulation and taxation. The Labour government has not been good for the bingo industry as a whole. The smoking ban and high levels of taxation crippled the land based bingo industry resulting in thousands of job losses. Earlier in 2010 the Labour government lowered the bingo tax a paltry 2% but the industry remains the most highly taxed in the gambling sector. Conservatives have remained silent about their intentions towards the bingo industry. At a Bingo Association meeting a shadow minister from the Tories said that the bingo tax is unfair and that the issue will be addressed when the time is right.
Some in the internet bingo industry fear that the new government could see the lucrative internet bingo market as a further source of tax revenue and could possibly raise taxes on internet bingo companies operating in the UK. Further taxation could easily drive internet bingo providers offshore resulting in a drop in tax revenue from the industry. Some commentators believe that the Labour party views the bingo sector as “a target for taxation” while the Liberal Democrats recognize the importance of bingo as a social activity.
Writing for the bingo oriented website Bingo Supermarket, author Jayne Wilson called for the online and land based bingo industries to join forces and stated, “[We] would urge online bingo operators to form an alliance in the form of an online Bingo Association in order to tackle and raise awareness of potential issues that will come around once the Government find its feet and start looking for a way to bring in revenues to service the country’s debts.” Experience has shown that by and large the government views the bingo and gaming industry as a handy source for tax revenue. While a hung Parliament may be bad for the country as a whole it could turn out well for the internet bingo industry.