An abundance has been talked in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the internet version of this classic game offer a reprieve, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo is an age old game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game of late had seen a recent return in appeal with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo halls in place of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the cigarette ban all over 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 permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common locations where people like to smoke.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the industry is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they haven’t abandoned this enduring game?
The answer is online. Players realize that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and fag and still enjoy massive jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on online could never replace the collective part of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the governing edicts have left many bingo players with little alternative.