A lot has been talked in the press not long ago about the bingo industry struggling because of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax cuts to help keep the businesses alive. However can the online version of this traditional game present a escape, or might it in no way compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an ancient game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game of late had seen a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the introduction of the anti cigarette law around Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favorite areas where players like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the industry is absolutely fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they haven’t deserted this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Players realize that they can participate in bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and still have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on online is unlikely to replace the social portion of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the law has left a good many bingo players with little option.