A lot has been talked in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. However will the web version of this quintessential game offer a reprieve, or might it never compare to its real life kin?
Bingo has been an ancient game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had experienced a recent resurgence in appeal with younger members of society deciding to visit the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a weekend. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti cigarette law all over UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored locations where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plunged and the business is absolutely fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t deserted this established game?
The answer is online. People are now realizing that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing online could never replace the communal part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with little alternative.