An abundance has been stated in the press recently concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti smoking law in England. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive aid to help keep the industry alive. But can the online version of this classic game offer a escape, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an established game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game of late had witnessed a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo halls in place of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the smoking ban around Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke at the same time marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular areas where folks enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not cast aside this classic game?
The answer is on the internet. People realize that they can wager on bingo from their computer while enjoying a drink and fag and in the end, have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course wagering on on the internet can never replace the collective aspect of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.