Much has been reported in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big aid to help keep the businesses afloat. But does the internet version of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or will it not compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an classic game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to be reversed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law all over England and Wales.
No more will players be able to smoke whilst marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite areas where people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo halls. Players have dropped and the industry is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not given up on this established game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers know that they can enjoy bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and smoke and in the end, enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with little option.