An abundance has been talked in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the online adaptation of this quintessential game offer a escape, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger people opting to hit the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a weekend. This is all about to be destroyed with the legislating of the cigarette ban throughout England and Wales.
No more will players be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favored locations where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did all the players go? Certainly they have not deserted this age old game?
The answer is on the net. People realise that they can wager on bingo from their computer while enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on on the net is unlikely to replace the collective part of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the rules have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no option.