A lot has been stated in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry struggling as a result of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However will the online adaptation of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or will it not compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an established game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had undergone a recent comeback in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to visit the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the cigarette ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favored places where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Profits have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not deserted this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. People are now realizing that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and cigarette and still enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal portion of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.