Much has been stated in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. However can the web variation of this traditional game present a salvation, or might it not compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an established game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the cigarette ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public location will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favored places where players like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the smoking ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Profits have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they haven’t given up on this familiar game?
The answer is online. Players know that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and fag and still enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course wagering on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with no option.