A lot has been written in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the internet version of this quintessential game present a salvation, or might it never compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an familiar game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had witnessed a recent comeback in popularity with younger members of society deciding to go to the bingo halls instead of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the smoking ban across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite places where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Players have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t abandoned this ancient game?
The answer is on the web. Players know that they can play bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and fag and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on online could never replace the communal part of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a good many bingo players with little option.