A lot has been reported in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the web variation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an classic game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game of late had undergone a recent return in popularity with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors instead of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the anti smoking law around Britain.
No longer will gamblers be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored areas where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Of course they haven’t given up on this ancient game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers realise that they can enjoy bingo using their computer while enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the net could never replace the collective part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with no alternative.