A lot has been stated in the press recently regarding the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax cuts to help keep the industry alive. However can the web version of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an enduring game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti smoking law all over England and Wales.
No more will players be allowed to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular locations where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Players have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not deserted this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. People realize that they can wager on bingo using their computer while enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, enjoy big prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the net will never replace the communal part of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.