A lot has been reported in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the smoking ban in the UK. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But will the net variation of this classic game present a salvation, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an age old game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game of late had experienced a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people deciding to visit the bingo halls in place of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to change with the enforcement of the cigarette ban across Britain.
Players will no longer be able to smoke whilst marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public place will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite places where players like to smoke.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is online. People know that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and smoke and still enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left many bingo players with little alternative.