Much has been talked in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the cigarette ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to help keep the industry alive. However will the web variation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had experienced a recent increase in popularity with younger people deciding to visit the bingo halls rather than the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the legislating of the anti cigarette law throughout Britain.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular places where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo halls. Numbers have plunged and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they have not abandoned this ancient game?
The answer is online. Gamblers are now realizing that they can participate in bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on online could never replace the collective portion of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a good many bingo players with little alternative.