Tax hikes cause another bingo hall closure

26th September 2009 9:19 AM

Over recent months many bingo halls have been struggling to survive. This has seen the rising success of many online bingo sites. Many of the bingo hall closures were initially blamed on the smoking ban. However, tax hikes cause another bingo hall closure. The Gala Bingo hall in Castle Hill near Dudley Zoo closed its doors at the weekend after being under threat of closure for some time.

Gala Coral Group Ltd, who operate Gala Bingo have called the decision a commercial one, but in a tough economic climate along with the hike in bingo tax, it is not difficult to see what has prompted this commercial decision. A Gala Bingo spokeswoman has confirmed that an offer has been made for the building but details of this offer have not yet been revealed.

Obviously the closing of bingo halls all over the country is good news for internet bingo sites, but there has to be an element of sadness to see yet another hall fail and more people adding to the unemployment tally. It has been no secret in the past, that Gala Bingo have chosen to make there online bingo sites there priority. This can only add to the theory that online bingo sites currently have the upper hand with regards to profit, accessibility and popularity.

The majority of people, who play bingo at online bingo sites, were completely new to bingo initially. However the increasing amount of hall closures is now seeing people choosing to use the internet bingo sites in favour of the remaining halls. There can be a variety of reasons for this other than the economic climate, smoking ban and tax hikes. Perhaps players who use online bingo sites get a better deal than they would at a bingo hall, but we also have to remember that accessibility to the internet is much greater than it was even 3 years ago.

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Written by Hannah Jones

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