A lot has been written in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However will the net variation of this traditional game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?
Bingo is an age old game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game of late had experienced a recent resurgence in appeal with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo halls rather than the discos on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the smoking ban around United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be able to smoke whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored areas where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the cigarette ban 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 struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Of course they have not given up on this age old game?
The answer is on the net. Gamblers realise that they can play bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the social portion of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no alternative.
