A lot has been talked in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the cigarette ban in the United Kingdom. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded big tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the net adaptation of this traditional game present a salvation, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo has been an ancient game historically played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had seen a recent comeback in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo halls in place of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the cigarette ban around United Kingdom.
No more will enthusiasts be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Players have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not abandoned this established game?
The answer is on the web. People realise that they can play bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal part of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with little option.