Much has been written in the press recently regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the net adaptation of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or might it not compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo is an age old game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had witnessed a recent increase in popularity with younger members of society opting to go to the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a weekend. This is all about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the cigarette ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t abandoned this age old game?
The answer is on the internet. Players are now realizing that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cigarette and in the end, enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the web can never replace the communal portion of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the rules have left a good many bingo players with little choice.