Much has been talked in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the anti smoking law in the UK. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big aid to assist in keeping the businesses alive. But does the online variation of this quintessential game present a lifeline, or might it never compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo is an age old game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had seen a recent return in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to visit the bingo halls rather than the bars on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the smoking ban throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common locations where players like to smoke.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plunged and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where have the players gone? Certainly they have not given up on this enduring game?
The answer is online. Players realise that they can participate in bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a drink and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the collective part of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the rules have left many bingo enthusiasts with no choice.