An abundance has been written in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry alive. But will the internet adaptation of this quintessential game provide a reprieve, or might it in no way compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo is an age old game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent increase in popularity with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo parlours rather than the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the enacting of the cigarette ban all over Britain.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite places where people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlors. Profits have plummeted and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t forgotten this classic game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers are now realizing that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on online could never replace the social part of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo players with little option.