Finance Bill

I understand that it is. Moreover, there are no controls in the case of online bingo. Although it may be in the immediate financial interests of a bingo hall to allow a particular customer to gamble beyond his or her means, I suspect that in the vast majority of cases the owners demonstrate a degree of paternalism. They have a fair sense of how much money the regular visitors have and of what it is safe and reasonable for them to spend. Of course, many people do not go to bingo halls just to gamble. The gambling is often almost a secondary or peripheral attraction. Many people's main reason for visiting the hall is social: they want to meet friends, and catch up on news and developments. When I visited Mecca Bingo on Friday, it was stressed to me that there were many associated attractions, such as the provision of meals and other forms of entertainment. It seems that people regard going to bingo halls as being only partly about gambling. For all those reasons, it was pointed out for some years that bingo had suffered unfairly from what was described as double taxation, and that the anomaly ought to be addressed. The Government have now done that, but, as the right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal rightly observed, in effect they said, "Here you are; we are giving to you with one hand," but just as everyone was celebrating that great victory, the Government took away the benefits with the other. The overall effect on the bingo industry and the people who enjoy playing bingo is that the current situation is no better than it was before. When I visited Mecca Bingo in Taunton last Friday, it supplied the following statistics to me: across the United Kingdom last year 31 Mecca and other bingo clubs had closed and two had opened, which meant that there had been a net reduction of 29 bingo clubs. Some associated social factors may be at play in such closures, such as generational changes and a greater desire among people to spend more of their leisure time at home. The right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal speculated that the smoking ban may also have had an impact in some cases. It is, however, very hard to argue against the notion that the higher tax rate on bingo is making the situation worse, and making it harder for bingo clubs to be profitable.