An abundance has been reported in the papers recently about the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti smoking law in Britain. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the internet version of this quintessential game offer a escape, or will it in no way compare to its land based kin?
Bingo is an ancient game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game of late had undergone a recent increase in popularity with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo halls rather than the discos on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the smoking ban throughout 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 permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored areas where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Profits have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Surely they have not deserted this enduring game?
The answer is on the net. People realize that they can play bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a good many bingo players with little option.