A lot has been written in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hurt because of the cigarette ban in the UK. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the businesses alive. However can the net variation of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or will it not compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent increase in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the smoking ban all over UK.
No more will players be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored places where many people enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Players have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t deserted this classic game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realize that they can wager on bingo using their computer while enjoying a cocktail and fag and in the end, have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the web will never replace the collective aspect of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the rules have left a good many bingo players with no option.