A lot has been stated in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the net adaptation of this classic game offer a reprieve, or will it not compare to its real life relative?
Bingo has been an enduring game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had undergone a recent increase in acceptance with younger members of society opting to visit the bingo halls rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti cigarette law around United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored locations where folks like to smoke.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they haven’t deserted this classic game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realize that they can wager on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and still enjoy big prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the web can never replace the collective portion of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.