Much has been stated in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the net variation of this quintessential game provide a escape, or will it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo is an age old game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had experienced a recent comeback in appeal with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the enforcement of the cigarette ban across Britain.
Players will no longer be able to smoke while marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public places will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common places where many people like to smoke.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Certainly they haven’t deserted this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. People are now realizing that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with little option.