An abundance has been reported in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hit because of the anti smoking law in the UK. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But does the web variation of this traditional game present a salvation, or might it in no way compare to its land based kin?
Bingo has been an enduring game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had seen a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the cigarette ban around UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common areas where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo parlors. Profits have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not cast aside this enduring game?
The answer is on the web. People are now realizing that they can participate in bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a drink and smoke and in the end, have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a group of people the rules have left a number of bingo players with no choice.