An abundance has been written in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry struggling as a result of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big aid to assist in keeping the industry alive. However will the web version of this quintessential game present a escape, or might it never compare to its land based relative?
Bingo has been an age old game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game lately had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the legislating of the cigarette ban across UK.
No more will gamblers be permitted to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most popular places where people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not abandoned this ancient game?
The answer is on the internet. Players know that they can gamble on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and cig and still have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the web will never replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the governing edicts have left many bingo players with no choice.