The CEO of Buzz Bingo has warned the company is facing an “existential” threat in the form of increased gambling taxes, with 2,500 jobs potentially at risk across its estate of 79 clubs.

Speaking to The Sun as part of the Save Our Bets campaign, Dominic Mansour expressed concern that any increase in costs would have a catastrophic impact on business.

“Last year we paid around £63m to the taxman, almost a third of our entire year’s turnover,” said Mansour. “We are still recovering from the National Insurance hit we took last year, and any further tax rises would be existential for our business.”

Buzz Bingo alone attracts four million players each year to its clubs, including the “jewel in the crown” in Tooting, a Grade I-listed former concert hall.

“It’s a lovely place, just to socialise and relax,” 78-year-old regular Chantal Ramon told The Sun. “I’ve been coming for 30 years and try to get here five days a week. The staff miss me if I’m not here – it’s nice to know.”

“I don’t drink or smoke, Bingo is the one little pleasure I have. Putting more tax on bingo is not fair on older people. If this place closed, it would uproot so many lives.”