An abundance has been reported in the press recently about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti smoking law in the UK. Conditions have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However does the internet variation of this classic game offer a escape, or will it in no way compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game lately had undergone a recent comeback in popularity with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite places where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t forgotten this established game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers know that they can enjoy bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the social part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the rules have left a lot of bingo players with no choice.