Much has been talked in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the smoking ban in England. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry alive. However will the net version of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or might it never compare to its real life relative?
Bingo has been an ancient game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game lately had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo halls in place of the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to smoke while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored places where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Profits have dropped and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t forgotten this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can participate in bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on on the internet could never replace the communal aspect of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the rules have left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.