Much has been written in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the internet adaptation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or will it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo is an familiar game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger members of society deciding to go to the bingo parlours instead of the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the cigarette ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored places where people enjoy smoking.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Players have plunged and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t given up on this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. People are now realizing that they can play bingo from their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and in the end, have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the law has left many bingo players with little alternative.
