A lot has been written in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big aid to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. But does the net version of this quintessential game offer a lifeline, or will it never compare to its real life peer?
Bingo is an familiar game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had experienced a recent increase in acceptance with younger people deciding to hit the bingo halls in place of the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti cigarette law around England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public places will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored areas where many people like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they haven’t abandoned this classic game?
The answer is on the web. People realise that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on online is unlikely to replace the collective portion of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with no option.