An abundance has been written in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in the UK. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the online adaptation of this classic game present a salvation, or might it in no way compare to its land based opposite?
Bingo has been an established game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game of late had witnessed a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo halls instead of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the enforcement of the cigarette ban around England and Wales.
No more will gamblers be able to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public areas will not be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common locations where people enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Certainly they have not cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and smoke and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the internet could never replace the communal portion of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the rules have left a number of bingo players with little option.