A lot has been reported in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti cigarette law in England. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax breaks to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the web adaptation of this traditional game offer a escape, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an familiar game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game of late had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo parlours rather than the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the anti smoking law all over United Kingdom.
No more will gamblers be able to smoke whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public places will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored places where people like to smoke.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plunged and the industry is absolutely struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they haven’t deserted this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realise that they can participate in bingo using their computer while enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, enjoy massive jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the internet will never replace the social part of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the law has left a number of bingo players with no alternative.