Much has been stated in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the web version of this classic game present a reprieve, or might it in no way compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an established game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had undergone a recent resurgence in appeal with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enforcement of the smoking ban around England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to smoke while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common places where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the industry is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Players are now realizing that they can play bingo from their computer while enjoying a beverage and cig and in the end, enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on online is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with no alternative.