Much has been written in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However can the internet variation of this quintessential game provide a reprieve, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo is an familiar game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had experienced a recent comeback in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to go to the bingo halls instead of the discos on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most popular areas where people enjoy smoking.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Of course they haven’t cast aside this enduring game?
The answer is on the net. Players realize that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the social part of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with little option.