An abundance has been reported in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry alive. But does the online variation of this quintessential game provide a escape, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an established game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game of late had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger members of society opting to visit the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to change with the enacting of the cigarette ban throughout England and Wales.
No more will enthusiasts be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored places where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plunged and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t forgotten this established game?
The answer is on the net. Players know that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and fag and still enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the collective part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with little choice.