An abundance has been written in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big aid to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. However will the online variation of this quintessential game present a reprieve, or will it in no way compare to its real life relative?
Bingo has been an established game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people opting to hit the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enacting of the anti cigarette law all over United Kingdom.
No more will players be able to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common locations where people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Profits have plunged and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Surely they have not given up on this enduring game?
The answer is on the net. People know that they can play bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and fag and still enjoy big prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the law has left a lot of bingo players with no alternative.