A lot has been written in the press recently about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax cuts to help keep the industry alive. However will the web adaptation of this quintessential game offer a lifeline, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an ancient game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent return in appeal with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo halls rather than the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti smoking law all over United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common places where many people like to smoke.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Profits have dropped and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. People know that they can gamble on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on on the internet will never replace the social part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no choice.