An abundance has been written in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the web variation of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game lately had experienced a recent increase in popularity with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlours instead of the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the anti cigarette law across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite areas where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Obviously they have not given up on this age old game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers are now realizing that they can play bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and still enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course playing online will never replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the law has left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little choice.