Much has been talked in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry singing the blues because of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry alive. But does the net adaptation of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or might it not compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an established game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo parlors rather than the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the legislating of the cigarette ban across Britain.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favorite areas where players enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Of course they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the web. People realize that they can enjoy bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and cigarette and still enjoy huge cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social portion of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no choice.