An abundance has been written in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the internet adaptation of this quintessential game present a escape, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo is an age old game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had undergone a recent return in popularity with younger people opting to go to the bingo halls in place of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the cigarette ban across UK.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common places where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t given up on this ancient game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can enjoy bingo using their computer while enjoying a drink and fag and still have a chance at big jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the internet can never replace the collective aspect of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.