What with Rank (Mecca Bingo) winning its ruling against the government coffers in terms of interval bingo games and VAT, opening the way for many other bingo operators to do the same, and the retirement of Chairman of the Bingo Association (BA) Sir Peter Fry, it looks as though bingo in the UK is in for a big re-shuffle (hopefully).
Sir. Peter Fry announced his retirement from the Association in the 21st April this year, but the wheels of beauocracy do move slowly, so we don't quite know what is happening with the BA as yet. What we do know is that Paul Talboys will take over the Chairmanship of the Association until such time as a suitable replacement can be found. Sir Peter Fry, has however chaired his last AGM.
Bingo operators have been looking to the Association to do something about the bingo taxation problem for some time now, and it seems they have done absolutely nothing. Any real intervention and hope has come from the private sector in terms of the lawsuit instituted by rank. This will set a precedent for other bingo operators to follow suit, but surely this is an area of concern for the UK Bingo Association?
I certainly would have believed so, had I not seen with my own eyes the mealy-mouthed responses from the BA on this real problem. For the past few years they have been engaging with government on this issue and every snippet of information we get is that something is being done, but nothing happens.
One actually wonders if the BA isn't just another necessary evil, much like life insurance and bingo operators' money is going into the wrong pockets if they believe the association has been representative of them. As far as I am concerned the BA reshuffle means very little if they don't reshuffle their ideologies also.
There has been some indication that the new Chairman of the BA might be Simon Wykes, former MD of Mecca Bingo, or it might be someone with absolutely no background in bingo. The Association has to be represented by someone who knows the industry and is able to fight on its behalf. Taking Mecca's court ruling into consideration I certainly believe Mr. Wykes could be the best man for the job.
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