Much has been talked in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax breaks to help keep the industry alive. However does the web variation of this classic game present a escape, or will it never compare to its real life peer?
Bingo is an age old game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent return in appeal with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo halls rather than the discos on a weekend. This is all about to be reversed with the enacting of the anti smoking law throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to smoke whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored places where players like to smoke.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they have not given up on this ancient game?
The answer is on the net. People realise that they can participate in bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and smoke and still enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on online will never replace the collective aspect of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little choice.