Much has been written in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti smoking law in England. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big tax cuts to help keep the industry alive. But will the internet adaptation of this classic game offer a salvation, or will it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an enduring game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the anti smoking law throughout United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke while marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public location will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common areas where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo halls. Players have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they haven’t given up on this ancient game?
The answer is online. Gamblers know that they can bet on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and smoke and still enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the net could never replace the social part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the law has left many bingo players with no alternative.