An abundance has been stated in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hit because of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However does the online variation of this traditional game provide a salvation, or will it not compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an established game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had seen a recent increase in appeal with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo halls instead of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the smoking ban around United Kingdom.
No more will gamblers be allowed to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t given up on this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can participate in bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cig and still enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the internet could never replace the social aspect of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a good many bingo players with little option.