A lot has been written in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry struggling because of the cigarette ban in the UK. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to help keep the industry afloat. However does the web version of this classic game present a reprieve, or will it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo is an established game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlours rather than the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the cigarette ban around United Kingdom.
No longer will enthusiasts be allowed to smoke while dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public areas will not be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common areas where people like to smoke.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not forgotten this established game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and smoke and still enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the social part of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of players the rules have left many bingo enthusiasts with little option.