An abundance has been reported in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry being hit because of the anti cigarette law in England. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However will the internet variation of this traditional game offer a salvation, or will it never compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an familiar game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game lately had seen a recent increase in acceptance with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlours instead of the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to change with the enacting of the smoking ban throughout UK.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite locations where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Players realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, have a chance at big jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo players with no option.