An abundance has been written in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the internet version of this quintessential game offer a lifeline, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an familiar game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger people opting to go to the bingo parlors instead of the discos on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite places where many people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they haven’t given up on this enduring game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cig and in the end, have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on online is unlikely to replace the social portion of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the rules have left a number of bingo players with little alternative.