A lot has been talked in the papers recently about the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to help keep the industry alive. But will the online adaptation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or will it in no way compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo is an ancient game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the legislating of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored areas where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they have not abandoned this enduring game?
The answer is online. Players realise that they can wager on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and cig and in the end, have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on on the web could never replace the communal part of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the law has left a good many bingo players with little choice.
