A lot has been written in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to help keep the industry alive. However does the internet version of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or will it in no way compare to its real life peer?
Bingo is an classic game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had undergone a recent increase in popularity with younger people deciding to hit the bingo halls in place of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the introduction of the anti cigarette law throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo halls. Players have dropped and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this age old game?
The answer is on the web. Players realize that they can play bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the web can never replace the collective part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the law has left a good many bingo players with little choice.