A lot has been reported in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the cigarette ban in the UK. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to help keep the industry alive. But does the web variation of this classic game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the smoking ban all over UK.
No longer will players be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favorite places where many people enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did all the players go? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this classic game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realize that they can enjoy bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a drink and smoke and in the end, enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social portion of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.