Recently, there was a public outcry for the Government to abolish the tax on bingo halls. It was claimed that VAT as high as 32 per cent was responsible for the closures of over one hundred clubs in the UK, and the cause of thousands of job losses. The response was that bingo actually only paid VAT in the region of around 15 per cent, much lower than other forms of gambling. With tax rises predicted in this year’s budget, what will happen to the beloved game of bingo?
Some people may wonder what all the fuss is about when it comes to a game of bingo compared to the other gambling favourite poker. Bingo lovers will stand up in unison to declare that the game is for working class individuals that like to socialise whilst taking the opportunity to up their income with prize money; whereas poker players are just big on gambling.
Reducing VAT would enable bingo players to continue to enjoy their hobby, but with talk of VAT rising to 20 per cent, the move seems highly unlikely. In fact, it could potentially have a major impact of the game’s richer cousin, Casinos. Although the money that exchanges hands in a casino is of much higher value, the proposed tax on high earners could throw a double headed spanner into the works.
Not only would casino owners face increased tax payments on their revenue, but the clientele that frequent their establishments won’t be feeling as flush as usual, and playing a game of poker or black jack might be the first thing cut as the purse strings are tightened. The Labour Government has proposed that earnings of over 15,000 GBP will be subject to 50 per cent tax rate. Taxing these high earners to such a degree is bound to have a knock on effect when it comes to public spending, which is exactly what the government are after.
Bingo, it is claimed, has a clientele comprised of comparatively low earners, so for them, the tax rise will not affect their choice of social activity, as long as the bingo halls can keep open. One way around this is for players to turn to online games, something that has been a growing trend over the last ten years or so. With the price of luxury items also going up in the budget, a night in certainly is certainly an attractive economic prospect, especially as it looks like the Government have bigger fish to fry.
Dom Donaldson is a gambling expert.
Find out more about Bingo and how you can join in the fun at a hall or online with UK Bingo.
Do you ever dream of winning the National Lottery? Then you are probably not alone there. The National Lottery is pretty popular in the UK, 94 percent of the adult population have played the lottery at some time in their life. Historically, at the beginning of the twentieth century most lotteries and gambling were considered illegal in the US and most of Europe. This is how it remained until after the Second World War, by the sixties casinos and lotteries appeared throughout the world as it was seen as a way to create revenue as well as taxes.
The National Lottery is the United Kingdoms largest lottery and is operated by the Camelot group, to whom the licenses are granted to. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission. In 2002 the lottery completely changed its branding to combat its falling sales and the game was renamed as Lotto, though it is still referred to as the National Lottery and is one of the largest and most popular forms of gambling in the UK.
All the prizes from the lottery are paid as a lump sum and are tax-free. Out of every pound that is spent on the lottery 50 pence goes to the prize fund and 28 pence to good causes that are set up by the government. There are twelve different machines used at the Lotto draw, both the machine and the set of balls are selected at random and is announced just before the draw begins. The machines are named Arthur, Merlin, Galahad, Vivian, Lancelot, Garnet, Topaz, Opal, Amethyst, Moonstone, Pearl and Sapphire. There was a machine named Guinevere in the past but that has since retired. All of the ball sets are designated by number.
Only people that live in the United Kingdom are able to play the lottery, having said that though there is several third party companies that offer anyone in the world the chance to play by entering into a syndicate but they are expected to pay a premium for this service.
Some facts about the National Lottery, there have been a total of 185 rollovers in which 14 are double rollovers and one triple rollover to date. Online every 100 seconds 11,200 pounds worth of lottery tickets are sold. The first lottery on November the 14th 1992 had an audience of 21,785,500 people in total! 50 percent of lottery winners after winning return to work despite their prize. Each lottery machine is hand made in Pennsylvania and costs a whopping 50,000 pounds!
Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the lottery industry.
Find out more about National Lottery and how the services available can help with purchasing your lottery tickets.
Since the smoking ban, the advertising for various forms of gambling has become increasingly more common. Some see this push towards encouraging people to play bingo, buy scratch cards, partake in online poker or just do the national lottery as a way to recuperate revenue in taxes lost through the tobacco industry. We are all aware that taxes from cigarette sales generated a lot of money for the government, but it is impossible to keep this revenue given the harmful nature of tobacco, but why choose gambling as a replacement, and is it any less harmful?
A recent study identified five major attractions for people with an addictive personality; alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling and pornography. It was suggested that taking away any one of these would see an increase in one of the others. Alcohol, tobacco and gambling are the most easily accessible of the five, and the most socially acceptable, so as the government has banned smoking, you could expect that one of the other two is quite likely to go up.
As we can tell from ad campaigns, the government are also getting tough on under age and binge drinking; although alcohol advertisements are still allowed, unlike tobacco advertising, there are information commercials that warn the public about under age and binge drinking. As drugs are illegal, and pornography is inappropriate to promote, the number one target for taxation is gambling.
The national lottery is promoted as a guilt free and fun way to try and change ones fortunes. It airs on prime time television and has a family feel that is not associated with other forms of gambling such as poker. Lottery games also serve another purpose whereby money from each ticket sale goes to help a good cause, so there is a sense of altruism. The general public feel more like they are giving to charity, with an added bonus that they might just become a millionaire.
The sense of karmic retribution softens the notion of gambling. With poker, drinking, drugs, alcohol and pornography, there is an essence of selfish indulgence, whereas buying a lottery ticket is a selfless thing to do. The government has tapped into this, and based on people’s good will are happy to promote the gambling phenomenon that we are currently experiencing ; and also happy to tax it. Serious gambling issues can leave people penniless and homeless, but at least they have their health; and whilst someone with an addictive personality will find something to spend time and money on, I’m certain that playing the lottery is definitely the lesser evil.
Dom Donaldson is a gambling expert.
Find out more about the Lottery in the UK and Europe with National Lottery.
After resisting the temptation for years I’ve finally bought a lottery ticket, fifteen years in fact; ever since 1994. That, of course, was the year that The National Lottery was launched in the UK. I remember it well. At the risk of relying on stereotypes to draw a picture for you, I’m from a large Irish family. Coming from a large Irish family I’m no stranger to gambling, for fun of course, but no less serious because of it.
Taking part in the national lottery is very straightforward and there is advice of all sorts aimed at helping people who are uncertain of what to do or where to go if they wish to take part. Lottery tickets are available in all sorts of different places and there are also fun products available to buy that can add to the experience.
Location - The National Lottery is now as much a part of the high street as the local butcher or baker. Everywhere you go there are places that you can buy lottery tickets. Newsagents, post offices and garages almost everywhere have become ticket sellers so there should be no reason you cannot find somewhere to purchase your ticket. Most places that do sell tickets have prominent sings in their windows or on the street outside as well.
If you are unable to get to the shop but have a computer then don’t worry. You can still get a ticket. The National Lottery website offers a service through its website that enables people to buy tickets online. Using a credit or debit card you can purchase an individual ticket or set up a regular purchase that ensures you never miss a draw.
The benefit of setting up an order online is that you can fill in all the details once and then never have to worry about not being able to get to a retailer on Saturday or Wednesday again. Even people who buy lottery tickets from high street shops miss out sometimes just because they are too busy doing other things and can’t find the time. The only drawback is that you can’t buy lucky dip tickets online, you have to choose your own numbers.
Choosing your numbers - There are also lots of lottery themed products that are available to purchase in shops and online. There’s the usual stuff like t shirts and caps and badges but there are also products that are designed to help you pick your numbers.
Some people do not like picking the same numbers every week and prefer to choose different ones every time they play. There are pens, key rings and fun gadgets that have random number generators built into them. Some are simply small balls that fall into one of six spaces, thus choosing your numbers and some are more sophisticated electronic devices that can pick six numbers at the flick of a switch or the press of a button.
There are also lots of other websites that can offer help and advice for newcomers to the lottery that can answer most problems. I found one that guided me through the whole process and even picked my numbers for me.
Now that website is bookmarked in my browser and I intend to use it whenever I want to buy a lottery ticket. It couldn’t be easier.
Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the gambling and gaming industry.
Find out more about the national lottery and other forms of entertaniment.
Oh it’s a Saturday night, and we’re all sat around, waiting expectantly for good ole Arthur to warm up his balls. Nope, it’s not the opening line to a carry on film; it’s a description of the penultimate moment before we all jump up screaming “We’ve won the lottery!” Yes, the weekly gathering in our front room is reminiscent of something from the Royle Family, and we are all desperately hoping that the numbers come up. The national lottery has definitely come a long way in the UK since its introduction in 1993 and has firmly established itself as a British institution.
Upon discovering that we haven’t won the national lottery, we duly have another cup of tea and wonder what we’ll do with ourselves until we get another chance next week. Although this disappointment undoubtedly doesn’t come as a hard hitting let down, it does take its toll. Lottery gamers don’t necessarily think that they are going to win, ergo, rarely show terrible disappointment upon only having one number. Whereas other forms of gambling tend to have much more dramatic consequences.
I believe this is due to the type of gambling that the national lottery portrays itself to be. It is a game of chance, not cunning thinking and strategic planning, therefore the notion that the game is based on the luck of the numbers encourages the player to believe that it just isn’t their time yet, but maybe next week will be. Compare this to someone who bets on the horses, or plays poker. The more skill that appears to be involved, the higher the stakes at play and the harder the loss comes.
Horse racing is a classic example. Many people place a bet or two without really knowing much about the form of the horse, the course, or indeed the race at hand. Some of these bets can be of a substantial amount of money, but the less knowledge about the gambling subject the gambler has, the smaller the bet will be. A seasoned follower of the races will know a thing or two and be comfortable placing a bet of thousands of pounds because he or she believes that they have a good chance of winning. Undoubtedly, losing the bet will come harder to the person that placed the larger bet than the one who decided to just have a go.
This can be compared yet again to those that engage in the game of poker. This game involves calculation and skill as well as working with chance. Those that play poker often bet with vast sums of money, to a degree where houses can be thrown in to the bet if money has run out. If a poker player loses a game, then the consequences are as expected dire.
But does the theory that the chance to skill ratio predicts the level of emotion shown upon loss really stand up? Not in a game of roulette, which is basically a glorified lottery game. There is no skill, only chance in trying to guess the correct number or colour and yet vast amounts of money can be bet in a game. Maybe playing the National Lottery can’t be classed as gambling at all, and should be seen as a bit of fun for the family, that could ultimately scoop millions.
Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the entertainment industry. Find out more about the National Lottery including the latest results and overseas lotto games on the National Lottery website.