A lot has been written in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry struggling because of the cigarette ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry alive. But can the web adaptation of this traditional game present a escape, or will it not compare to its real life peer?
Bingo has been an familiar game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had seen a recent increase in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlors instead of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law around England and Wales.
No longer will enthusiasts be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common places where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they haven’t given up on this age old game?
The answer is on the web. People realize that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and smoke and in the end, enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the communal part of going down to the bingo hall, but for a group of people the rules have left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.