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Much has been written in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the anti cigarette law in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive aid to help keep the businesses alive. But will the web variation of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or will it in no way compare to its land based kin?
Bingo has been an familiar game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had experienced a recent increase in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo halls instead of the bars on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the smoking ban all over United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored places where people like to smoke.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not deserted this familiar game?
The answer is online. Gamblers are now realizing that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a cocktail and cig and still enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on online is unlikely to replace the communal part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with little option.
