A lot has been reported in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to help keep the businesses afloat. But can the online variation of this traditional game present a salvation, or will it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an classic game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had witnessed a recent resurgence in appeal with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the cigarette ban around UK.
No more will players be able to smoke while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular places where many people enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not forgotten this established game?
The answer is on the web. Players realise that they can bet on bingo using their computer while enjoying a beer and cigarette and still enjoy huge cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on online is unlikely to replace the social part of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.