Much has been written in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But will the web variation of this quintessential game present a reprieve, or will it not compare to its real life peer?
Bingo has been an ancient game historically enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had witnessed a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti cigarette law all over Britain.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t abandoned this enduring game?
The answer is on the web. People know that they can play bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and smoke and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course betting on on the web can never replace the collective part of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the law has left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little choice.