A lot has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in the UK. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the net adaptation of this quintessential game present a lifeline, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo is an classic game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger members of society opting to visit the bingo halls in place of the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the cigarette ban throughout UK.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public place will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored locations where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t given up on this established game?
The answer is on the internet. Players know that they can wager on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on online will never replace the collective aspect of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the rules have left a lot of bingo players with no option.