Much has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to help keep the businesses afloat. However will the net version of this quintessential game present a reprieve, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo is an classic game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had experienced a recent increase in appeal with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors instead of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the cigarette ban all over United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke while marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this classic game?
The answer is on the net. Players know that they can gamble on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beverage and smoke and still enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent development and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the collective portion of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the rules have left many bingo players with no choice.