A lot has been written in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the web variation of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo has been an familiar game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game lately had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo parlors instead of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the introduction of the cigarette ban across England and Wales.
No more will players be permitted to smoke at the same time marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored locations where many people like to smoke.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not forgotten this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. People are now realizing that they can bet on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and fag and in the end, enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the web is unlikely to replace the social portion of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the law has left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with little choice.