Much has been talked in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the cigarette ban in the United Kingdom. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge tax breaks to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However does the online version of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or will it never compare to its real life peer?
Bingo has been an ancient game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had witnessed a recent resurgence in appeal with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo halls in place of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to change with the enacting of the cigarette ban across Britain.
No more will enthusiasts be able to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular places where people enjoy smoking.
The results of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Players have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t forgotten this enduring game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers know that they can participate in bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, have a chance at big jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on on the web is unlikely to replace the collective part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little option.