A lot has been written in the press not long ago concerning the bingo industry struggling because of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But will the online adaptation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or will it never compare to its land based relative?
Bingo has been an established game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the enforcement of the smoking ban across England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common places where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not abandoned this classic game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and smoke and still enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on on the internet can never replace the collective part of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little choice.