A lot has been talked in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry struggling because of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax breaks to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However can the web adaptation of this traditional game present a reprieve, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo is an enduring game historically played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had experienced a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the introduction of the anti smoking law across UK.
Players will no longer be able to smoke while marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favorite places where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t cast aside this age old game?
The answer is on the web. People know that they can gamble on bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on online can never replace the communal aspect of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo players with no choice.