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Much has been reported in the press recently regarding the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive aid to assist in keeping the industry alive. However will the internet variation of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or might it not compare to its land based relative?
Bingo is an familiar game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlors rather than the bars on a weekend. All this is about to change with the enforcement of the smoking ban across UK.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored places where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlours. Players have dropped and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t given up on this classic game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can gamble on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a drink and fag and still enjoy massive jackpots. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the social aspect of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the rules have left a good many bingo players with little alternative.
