Much has been talked in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti smoking law in the UK. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the internet adaptation of this traditional game present a salvation, or will it not compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had witnessed a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlours rather than the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enacting of the anti cigarette law throughout UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite locations where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t given up on this familiar game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers are now realizing that they can wager on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and fag and in the end, enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent development and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social portion of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left many bingo players with no option.