An abundance has been talked in the press recently regarding the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However can the online adaptation of this classic game present a reprieve, or will it never compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the legislating of the cigarette ban across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common places where people like to smoke.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the business is absolutely fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they haven’t deserted this ancient game?
The answer is on the internet. People are now realizing that they can play bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social portion of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of players the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.