An abundance has been reported in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti smoking law in Britain. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the online version of this classic game provide a reprieve, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an familiar game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the smoking ban around England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular areas where people enjoy smoking.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the business is absolutely fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not deserted this age old game?
The answer is online. Players realize that they can gamble on bingo from their computer while enjoying a drink and cigarette and in the end, enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a number of bingo players with no option.