An abundance has been stated in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However does the online adaptation of this quintessential game offer a lifeline, or will it not compare to its real life relative?
Bingo is an enduring game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger members of society opting to visit the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the enacting of the cigarette ban all over United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common locations where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Players have dropped and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Of course they have not cast aside this age old game?
The answer is on the internet. People realise that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cig and still have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent development and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on online could never replace the collective part of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo players with little alternative.