A lot has been stated in the press recently concerning the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses alive. However will the web version of this quintessential game provide a escape, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo is an classic game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent comeback in appeal with younger people deciding to go to the bingo parlors instead of the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the legislating of the cigarette ban across UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most popular areas where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not given up on this age old game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realise that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, enjoy huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal part of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a lot of bingo players with no choice.