A lot has been talked in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry afloat. However does the internet adaptation of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or might it not compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an enduring game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game of late had undergone a recent comeback in appeal with younger members of society opting to go to the bingo parlors rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the anti cigarette law throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favored areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. People realise that they can participate in bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on online is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.