An abundance has been written in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. However will the net version of this classic game provide a lifeline, or might it never compare to its land based relative?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game lately had witnessed a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlors rather than the bars on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the introduction of the anti smoking law across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored locations where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Profits have dropped and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this established game?
The answer is on the internet. People realise that they can participate in bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. 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 part of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a good many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.