An abundance has been reported in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti smoking law in England. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the web adaptation of this classic game provide a lifeline, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo has been an ancient game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had experienced a recent increase in popularity with younger members of society opting to visit the bingo halls instead of the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the introduction of the anti cigarette law all over UK.
No more will players be able to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular places where folks enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this ancient game?
The answer is on the net. Players know that they can gamble on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the net will never replace the communal part of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.