A lot has been reported in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in the UK. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. But does the online variation of this classic game provide a salvation, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo has been an age old game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had undergone a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti smoking law all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite places where folks like to smoke.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Players have plummeted and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not forgotten this established game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can participate in bingo using their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on online will never replace the collective portion of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.