A lot has been reported in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the web adaptation of this quintessential game provide a reprieve, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo has been an age old game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent comeback in appeal with younger members of society opting to go to the bingo halls in place of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to be reversed with the enforcement of the smoking ban across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke whilst marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most popular areas where people like to smoke.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo halls. Players have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t cast aside this enduring game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realize that they can enjoy bingo from their computer while enjoying a drink and fag and still have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the web can never replace the collective portion of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.