An abundance has been written in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hit because of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. But can the web version of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game lately had witnessed a recent increase in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to change with the legislating of the smoking ban across England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favored places where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Profits have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not cast aside this age old game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can bet on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the internet is unlikely to replace the collective portion of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.