A lot has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a result of the cigarette ban in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big aid to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the online variation of this classic game present a reprieve, or will it not compare to its land based opposite?
Bingo is an familiar game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game recently had seen a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the legislating of the cigarette ban all over UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public place will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular areas where players like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the industry is absolutely fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they have not abandoned this enduring game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers are now realizing that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beer and cig and still enjoy big prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the social part of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no option.