Much has been talked in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt because of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry alive. But will the web variation of this classic game provide a reprieve, or will it never compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo is an age old game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent comeback in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the introduction of the cigarette ban throughout UK.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t forgotten this age old game?
The answer is on the web. People realise that they can wager on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and smoke and in the end, enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.