Much has been talked in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But will the online adaptation of this traditional game present a reprieve, or will it in no way compare to its real life peer?
Bingo has been an classic game historically enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had witnessed a recent return in popularity with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo parlours rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti cigarette law all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public places will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common places where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not deserted this established game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can play bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the internet could never replace the social aspect of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left many bingo players with no option.