An abundance has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the net variation of this traditional game offer a salvation, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an established game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had seen a recent return in appeal with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a weekend. This is all about to be destroyed with the enacting of the anti cigarette law across Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular places where people like to smoke.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t deserted this enduring game?
The answer is on the web. People realize that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on on the internet will never replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the law has left a good many bingo players with little choice.