Much has been stated in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But does the internet version of this classic game provide a reprieve, or might it not compare to its real life peer?
Bingo is an familiar game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had undergone a recent comeback in appeal with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the enacting of the smoking ban throughout UK.
No more will players be able to smoke while marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public location will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common locations where many people like to smoke.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they have not abandoned this classic game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can wager on bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and smoke and still have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of people the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with little option.