A lot has been written in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry struggling as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the online variation of this quintessential game present a escape, or will it in no way compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an established game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game lately had experienced a recent increase in appeal with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the cigarette ban all over England and Wales.
No more will gamblers be permitted to smoke while dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favored locations where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Players realize that they can enjoy bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the rules have left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.