An abundance has been reported in the press recently regarding the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the cigarette ban in England. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big aid to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However does the web variation of this traditional game present a lifeline, or might it not compare to its land based relative?
Bingo has been an established game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game lately had witnessed a recent resurgence in appeal with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo halls in place of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the introduction of the anti cigarette law across Britain.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored places where many people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Profits have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t deserted this enduring game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course betting on on the internet can never replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a lot of bingo players with no option.