A lot has been reported in the press not long ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the cigarette ban in England. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big aid to help keep the businesses alive. However can the internet variation of this quintessential game provide a lifeline, or will it never compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an enduring game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent increase in acceptance with younger people deciding to hit the bingo parlours rather than the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to be reversed with the introduction of the cigarette ban across UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular places where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Certainly they have not cast aside this classic game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a drink and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the collective part of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the law has left a number of bingo players with no choice.