Much has been talked in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the net variation of this classic game offer a lifeline, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an enduring game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people deciding to hit the bingo parlours in place of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the introduction of the smoking ban all over Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored places where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is online. People realize that they can enjoy bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cig and still have a chance at big prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the web can never replace the communal aspect of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with no option.