A lot has been stated in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses alive. But can the web version of this quintessential game offer a reprieve, or might it never compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo is an ancient game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had experienced a recent increase in appeal with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the smoking ban all over United Kingdom.
No longer will gamblers be permitted to smoke while marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored areas where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they have not cast aside this ancient game?
The answer is online. Gamblers are now realizing that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the web can never replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.