An abundance has been reported in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But will the internet version of this quintessential game provide a lifeline, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an classic game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game of late had experienced a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors instead of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the anti smoking law throughout UK.
No more will gamblers be permitted to smoke at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common places where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Of course they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers know that they can gamble on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and cig and in the end, have a chance at massive cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on online can never replace the social part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the law has left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.