Much has been reported in the press recently regarding the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax breaks to help keep the industry afloat. However will the online adaptation of this traditional game present a lifeline, or will it in no way compare to its land based relative?
Bingo is an classic game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had undergone a recent increase in appeal with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the smoking ban throughout UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common areas where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo halls. Profits have dropped and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they have not deserted this established game?
The answer is on the net. Players realize that they can enjoy bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy massive jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the social part of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.