An abundance has been written in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the online variation of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had seen a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger people deciding to go to the bingo parlors rather than the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the legislating of the cigarette ban all over UK.
Players will no longer be able to smoke while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public locations will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not given up on this established game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and cig and still have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on on the web could never replace the communal portion of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no option.