A lot has been stated in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti smoking law in England. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive aid to assist in keeping the industry alive. But will the web variation of this quintessential game offer a escape, or might it never compare to its real life kin?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had undergone a recent return in popularity with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo parlours rather than the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the cigarette ban throughout Britain.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored locations where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they haven’t deserted this established game?
The answer is online. People realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and smoke and in the end, enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the internet will never replace the communal aspect of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with little option.