Much has been talked in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the cigarette ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses alive. However can the internet adaptation of this classic game provide a lifeline, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an established game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game of late had undergone 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 enforcement of the anti cigarette law throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favorite places where folks like to smoke.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this classic game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can participate in bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and cigarette and still have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on on the net is unlikely to replace the social portion of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the rules have left many bingo players with little alternative.