Much has been talked in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry alive. But will the net version of this quintessential game offer a lifeline, or might it not compare to its land based kin?
Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had experienced a recent increase in appeal with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to be reversed with the enacting of the anti smoking law around UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common locations where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlours. Players have plunged and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers know that they can bet on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on on the web could never replace the social part of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the law has left many bingo players with little alternative.