A lot has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a result of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge aid to help keep the industry alive. But does the web variation of this traditional game present a reprieve, or will it never compare to its land based kin?
Bingo is an established game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent increase in popularity with younger people deciding to go to the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the smoking ban across UK.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public area will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Of course they haven’t forgotten this ancient game?
The answer is on the internet. People realize that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and fag and still have a chance at massive jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing online is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo players with no choice.
