A lot has been written in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to assist in keeping the industry afloat. However will the online variation of this classic game provide a lifeline, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game historically played by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had seen a recent resurgence in popularity with younger members of society deciding to visit the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a weekend. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the anti cigarette law around England and Wales.
No more will gamblers be able to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public area will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common locations where people enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not deserted this classic game?
The answer is online. Gamblers know that they can play bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and fag and still enjoy huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course betting on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal portion of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no option.