A lot has been reported in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to assist in keeping the industry afloat. But can the online adaptation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or will it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an enduring game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game of late had undergone a recent return in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the smoking ban throughout UK.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the industry is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they have not cast aside this established game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers are now realizing that they can wager on bingo from their computer while enjoying a drink and smoke and in the end, enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing online could never replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a number of bingo players with no choice.