An abundance has been written in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the web variation of this classic game present a escape, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an established game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game recently had seen a recent return in appeal with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo halls in place of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the smoking ban throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common areas where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Profits have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not given up on this established game?
The answer is online. Players are now realizing that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and cig and in the end, have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course playing on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the rules have left a lot of bingo players with no alternative.