An abundance has been reported in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the cigarette ban in the UK. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However can the internet variation of this quintessential game present a escape, or might it in no way compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an ancient game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game lately had witnessed a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors instead of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the enacting of the anti cigarette law across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common locations where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Surely they have not forgotten this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. People realize that they can bet on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and cig and in the end, enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on online is unlikely to replace the social portion of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the rules have left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.