A lot has been reported in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to help keep the industry alive. But can the net adaptation of this traditional game present a salvation, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo has been an enduring game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had seen a recent return in appeal with younger people deciding to go to the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the smoking ban across Britain.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public area will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Profits have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they have not forgotten this established game?
The answer is online. People know that they can play bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and fag and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the net could never replace the communal aspect of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.