A lot has been stated in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive aid to assist in keeping the industry alive. However can the web variation of this traditional game present a salvation, or might it not compare to its land based relative?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had witnessed a recent return in acceptance with younger people deciding to visit the bingo halls in place of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enforcement of the smoking ban around United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favored areas where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realise that they can wager on bingo using their computer while enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on online could never replace the communal aspect of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of players the law has left a lot of bingo players with no option.