A lot has been reported in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However can the internet adaptation of this quintessential game present a salvation, or might it not compare to its land based relative?
Bingo is an age old game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had seen a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo halls in place of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law throughout UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Certainly they have not forgotten this familiar game?
The answer is on the web. People realise that they can bet on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and still have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.