A lot has been talked in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the anti smoking law in the UK. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. But will the internet variation of this classic game present a reprieve, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an established game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had undergone a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlours instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the enacting of the cigarette ban around United Kingdom.
No more will gamblers be able to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most popular areas where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t deserted this ancient game?
The answer is online. People know that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a cocktail and fag and still enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course playing on the net will never replace the collective aspect of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with little alternative.