A lot has been reported in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry alive. But will the online variation of this traditional game present a lifeline, or might it never compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had undergone a recent comeback in appeal with younger people opting to go to the bingo parlors instead of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to be destroyed with the introduction of the smoking ban around England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke whilst marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common areas where many people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not deserted this enduring game?
The answer is on the web. People are now realizing that they can participate in bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a lot of bingo players with little choice.
