A lot has been reported in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However does the online version of this classic game offer a salvation, or might it not compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an classic game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had seen a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo halls in place of the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the introduction of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored places where players like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo halls. Profits have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t deserted this established game?
The answer is on the internet. People realise that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing online is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left many bingo players with no option.