Much has been reported in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive aid to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. However can the net variation of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or will it never compare to its land based opposite?
Bingo has been an ancient game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger people deciding to hit the bingo halls instead of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti smoking law across UK.
Players will no longer be able to smoke while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored areas where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Profits have plummeted and the industry is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they haven’t cast aside this classic game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers realize that they can play bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and still enjoy big prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the web is unlikely to replace the social part of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no option.