Much has been talked in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit because of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However will the online adaptation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or will it not compare to its land based opposite?
Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had witnessed a recent return in appeal with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti smoking law throughout Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favorite places where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t forgotten this ancient game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realize that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the net could never replace the communal aspect of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.