An abundance has been written in the press recently concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti smoking law in the UK. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax breaks to help keep the industry afloat. However can the online adaptation of this traditional game provide a escape, or might it not compare to its land based opposite?
Bingo is an enduring game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had witnessed a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors rather than the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti smoking law all over UK.
No more will enthusiasts be able to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public places will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the web. Players realize that they can gamble on bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo players with little choice.