An abundance has been talked in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However does the net version of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or might it never compare to its land based opposite?
Bingo is an familiar game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent return in popularity with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to change with the enforcement of the cigarette ban around United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite areas where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo halls. Players have plunged and the business is absolutely fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not cast aside this age old game?
The answer is on the net. Players realize that they can enjoy bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and cig and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the internet is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of people the rules have left many bingo players with little choice.