A lot has been stated in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However can the internet adaptation of this quintessential game present a lifeline, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an classic game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo parlours rather than the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the smoking ban throughout UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke while dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common locations where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo halls. Players have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Certainly they have not cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realize that they can play bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course wagering on online can never replace the social portion of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the rules have left a number of bingo players with no option.