A lot has been stated in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to assist in keeping the industry afloat. However will the internet version of this traditional game present a salvation, or might it never compare to its real life relative?
Bingo is an established game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had witnessed a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger members of society opting to visit the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the anti cigarette law throughout UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke while dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favorite locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the industry is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not deserted this classic game?
The answer is on the net. People realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a drink and fag and still enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the net can never replace the communal part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of people the law has left a good many bingo players with little choice.