An abundance has been talked in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses alive. But will the online variation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or might it not compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an enduring game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had seen a recent increase in popularity with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the legislating of the smoking ban across Britain.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke while marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public place will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most popular locations where many people like to smoke.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo halls. Players have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Players know that they can wager on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cigarette and still enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course wagering on online is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left many bingo players with little alternative.