A lot has been written in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the online version of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an established game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent comeback in appeal with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the anti cigarette law around Britain.
No longer will players be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common areas where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t abandoned this classic game?
The answer is on the internet. People know that they can play bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cig and still enjoy massive jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on on the web will never replace the communal aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with little choice.