A lot has been reported in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling because of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. But can the online adaptation of this quintessential game offer a escape, or might it not compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an enduring game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game of late had seen a recent comeback in appeal with younger members of society opting to go to the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti smoking law throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to smoke while marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular locations where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Players have dropped and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t abandoned this established game?
The answer is on the web. People realise that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and in the end, have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the net can never replace the communal part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the law has left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with little choice.
