Bingo halls in the UK will not have their value added tax (VAT) rates cut – this despite examples that locations are being force to close due to the tax.

According to a story from the BBC, MP John Hemming was calling for the tax to be altered, claiming other forms of gambling pay a 15 percent VAT while bingo halls cumulatively pay 32 percent.

However, Exchequer Secretary Angela Eagle ruled that the tax system is not the bingo industry’s problem and changing it not the solution "Our assessment remains that tax is not at the root of the industry's problems and nor do we believe that alteration of the tax regime would be an appropriate solution to them," Eagle was quoted in the story.

More than 100 clubs have closed in the last six years, leading to at least 3,500 job losses, according to the report.