A lot has been written in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti smoking law in the UK. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the online variation of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or will it never compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an established game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had undergone a recent return in appeal with younger people opting to hit the bingo parlours instead of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the anti smoking law around England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo halls. Numbers have plunged and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not deserted this ancient game?
The answer is on the net. People know that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beer and smoke and still enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing online can never replace the social portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the rules have left a number of bingo players with little alternative.