Much has been written in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the online variation of this classic game present a escape, or will it in no way compare to its real life peer?
Bingo has been an ancient game historically enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had witnessed a recent resurgence in popularity with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a weekend. All this is about to change with the enacting of the cigarette ban all over Britain.
No more will enthusiasts be able to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public location will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common places where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is online. Players know that they can bet on bingo from their computer while enjoying a drink and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at massive jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on online is unlikely to replace the social portion of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the law has left a good many bingo enthusiasts with no option.