Much has been written in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the cigarette ban in the UK. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the online version of this traditional game offer a escape, or might it never compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the introduction of the anti smoking law throughout United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke whilst dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public location will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite places where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plummeted and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they have not cast aside this classic game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realize that they can play bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on online can never replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the law has left a lot of bingo players with no option.