Much has been reported in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. But will the internet version of this quintessential game present a reprieve, or might it in no way compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo is an classic game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game lately had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger people opting to go to the bingo parlours instead of the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the enacting of the cigarette ban around UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored areas where players like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo halls. Profits have dropped and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they have not cast aside this classic game?
The answer is on the net. People realise that they can play bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and smoke and still enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course playing on the internet could never replace the collective part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little option.