Much has been stated in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However can the online adaptation of this classic game provide a lifeline, or will it not compare to its land based relative?
Bingo is an familiar game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had experienced a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlours rather than the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the enacting of the anti smoking law throughout United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public location will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common locations where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo halls. Players have plunged and the industry is absolutely struggling for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they have not forgotten this classic game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers realise that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and smoke and still enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on on the net will never replace the communal part of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of players the law has left a good many bingo players with no choice.