An abundance has been stated in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses alive. But does the web version of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an age old game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had experienced a recent comeback in appeal with younger people deciding to go to the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to change with the legislating of the smoking ban around England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favored locations where people enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not given up on this classic game?
The answer is online. People realise that they can participate in bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beer and fag and still have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.