Much has been reported in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt because of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax breaks to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. But will the web adaptation of this classic game present a salvation, or might it not compare to its land based relative?
Bingo has been an established game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game of late had witnessed a recent increase in appeal with younger members of society deciding to visit the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the smoking ban all over United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public area will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored areas where folks like to smoke.
The results of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t forgotten this ancient game?
The answer is on the web. People realise that they can enjoy bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cig and in the end, enjoy massive jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the web can never replace the communal aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the law has left a good many bingo players with no choice.