Much has been written in the press not long ago about the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax cuts to help keep the businesses afloat. However does the net variation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or might it not compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had witnessed a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti smoking law around Britain.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular areas where folks enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they haven’t given up on this enduring game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can play bingo using their computer while enjoying a cocktail and smoke and still enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of people the rules have left many bingo players with little option.