An abundance has been reported in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to help keep the industry alive. But can the net adaptation of this traditional game provide a salvation, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo has been an ancient game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had witnessed a recent return in appeal with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo parlours instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti cigarette law across England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular areas where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not abandoned this ancient game?
The answer is online. People realise that they can participate in bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cigarette and still enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on online is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a number of bingo players with no choice.