A lot has been reported in the papers recently about the bingo industry singing the blues because of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the web variation of this quintessential game provide a escape, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an ancient game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had witnessed a recent comeback in acceptance with younger people opting to hit the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the anti cigarette law across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored locations where many people like to smoke.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Of course they have not forgotten this classic game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realize that they can gamble on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cigarette and still have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on on the internet will never replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the rules have left a good many bingo players with little alternative.