A lot has been written in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax cuts to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. But does the net adaptation of this classic game present a lifeline, or might it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an familiar game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger people opting to hit the bingo parlors rather than the bars on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the smoking ban across England and Wales.
No more will players be able to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored places where players enjoy smoking.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlours. Players have dropped and the industry is absolutely struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers know that they can wager on bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and fag and in the end, have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on online is unlikely to replace the collective portion of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the rules have left a good many bingo players with little alternative.