Britain’s biggest bingo chain explores sale despite tax raid threat

The owner of the UK's largest bingo chain, Buzz Bingo, is considering selling the company despite a looming threat of a substantial tax raid. Asset manager ICG has engaged banking firms to assist in negotiations with potential buyers for Buzz Bingo. The Nottingham-based chain is seeking a new owner to inject fresh capital and capitalize on the increasing interest in bingo among younger Brits.

Specialist finance advisor Oakvale Capital has been enlisted to oversee the potential sale of Buzz Bingo, which operates over 75 locations throughout the country. Notably, half of the 190,000 new retail customers acquired by the company last year were under 35 years old. Buzz Bingo experienced a significant turnaround in 2025, with admissions and revenue rising for the first time since 2007, when the indoor smoking ban was implemented.

The company's revenue increased by 11% to £241 million that year, driven by double-digit growth at its bingo halls and through online games. Buzz Bingo aims to invest more in renovating its clubs and enhancing the customer experience, which outpaced the company's overall admissions growth by 20% and attracted 49% more new customers last year.

Buzz Bingo's pursuit of a new owner, initially reported by Sky News, coincides with warnings from the gambling industry that a proposed government tax hike on machine games duty could devastate the sector. Buzz Bingo's CEO, Dominic Mansour, has cautioned that such a tax increase would jeopardize the viability of bingo in the UK.

He urged Chancellor John Healey to refrain from raising the MGD from 20% to 40%, as it could pose a significant threat to the industry.