Much has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hit because of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the online adaptation of this traditional game present a salvation, or will it in no way compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an classic game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had witnessed a recent increase in popularity with younger people deciding to go to the bingo halls instead of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to change with the enacting of the cigarette ban all over UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite locations where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo halls. Numbers have plunged and the industry is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t abandoned this age old game?
The answer is online. People realize that they can play bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and cigarette and in the end, enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on on the internet can never replace the collective portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the rules have left a number of bingo players with no alternative.