An abundance has been talked in the press not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry afloat. But does the web adaptation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or will it never compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an enduring game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had witnessed a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlours instead of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the smoking ban across UK.
No longer will gamblers be allowed to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common locations where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not given up on this age old game?
The answer is on the web. People realise that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a cocktail and fag and still enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the law has left a good many bingo players with no alternative.