Much has been talked in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to help keep the industry afloat. However can the net variation of this traditional game provide a salvation, or will it never compare to its land based kin?
Bingo has been an enduring game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had experienced a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo halls in place of the bars on a weekend. This is all about to change with the enacting of the anti smoking law around Britain.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public area will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored places where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlours. Players have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Surely they have not given up on this enduring game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers are now realizing that they can participate in bingo using their computer while enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, enjoy huge cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the web will never replace the collective aspect of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a good many bingo players with little option.