Much has been written in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the web version of this classic game provide a escape, or will it not compare to its real life relative?
Bingo has been an familiar game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had witnessed a recent resurgence in appeal with younger members of society deciding to go to the bingo halls rather than the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the smoking ban across Britain.
No longer will players be able to smoke whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite places where players like to smoke.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they haven’t given up on this familiar game?
The answer is online. People realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and still have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the collective portion of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a good many bingo enthusiasts with no choice.
