A lot has been stated in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However can the web variation of this traditional game offer a salvation, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an age old game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law across England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public areas will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored locations where players like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where did all the players go? Surely they have not abandoned this established game?
The answer is on the web. People know that they can participate in bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the internet can never replace the communal portion of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.
