A lot has been reported in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However can the net adaptation of this classic game present a lifeline, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an age old game historically enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a weekend. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti smoking law throughout UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular locations where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the industry is absolutely fighting for its life. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t abandoned this enduring game?
The answer is on the internet. Players know that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big prizes. This is a recent development and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the web will never replace the collective aspect of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the law has left a good many bingo players with little alternative.