New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that he would be happy to meet with bingo companies to discuss problems in the bingo industry and the levels of taxation.

“I can assure you that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will continue to look at these matters but I am also very happy to meet up to talk about it,” Brown told Parliament.

Bingo firms have long complained that bingo is taxed twice as VAT is charged on the price players pay for each bingo game (participation fee) while gross profit (the participation fee minus the money paid out in prizes) is also taxed.

The UK bingo industry has seen player numbers decline as a result of recently imposed smoking bans across Britain, while firms have opted to close clubs to combat falling profitability.

Tags: UK Bingo, UK bingo clubs, Gordon Brown