An abundance has been written in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big aid to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. But can the web variation of this quintessential game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an ancient game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had undergone a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlours instead of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enforcement of the cigarette ban around England and Wales.
No more will gamblers be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public locations will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular locations where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Players have dropped and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they haven’t abandoned this age old game?
The answer is on the net. People know that they can play bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the collective part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no option.