Much has been written in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But does the net adaptation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or might it never compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo is an familiar game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had seen a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlors instead of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the smoking ban across England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke at the same time marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite places where players like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t abandoned this established game?
The answer is on the web. Players know that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at massive jackpots. This is a recent development and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social aspect of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a number of bingo players with little choice.