An abundance has been written in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the internet variation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or might it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo is an familiar game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had undergone a recent return in appeal with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo parlours instead of the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the legislating of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common locations where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the industry is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they haven’t deserted this ancient game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can enjoy bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal portion of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the law has left a number of bingo players with no choice.
