An abundance has been reported in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive aid to help keep the industry alive. However will the web adaptation of this classic game provide a lifeline, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo is an enduring game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game lately had seen a recent increase in appeal with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the smoking ban all over Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke whilst dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common locations where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not cast aside this established game?
The answer is on the internet. Players are now realizing that they can participate in bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and fag and still have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course betting on on the web can never replace the communal part of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.