A lot has been stated in the press recently regarding the bingo industry singing the blues because of the cigarette ban in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. However will the online version of this traditional game provide a reprieve, or might it never compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an enduring game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game of late had witnessed a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the legislating of the anti cigarette law around Britain.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke while dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favorite places where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where have the players gone? Obviously they haven’t abandoned this enduring game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers know that they can participate in bingo using their computer while enjoying a drink and cig and still enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on online can never replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.