An abundance has been written in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry afloat. But will the net adaptation of this classic game provide a escape, or will it never compare to its land based kin?
Bingo is an familiar game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had experienced a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the smoking ban across UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite areas where many people like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have plummeted and the industry is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they haven’t given up on this familiar game?
The answer is on the web. Players realize that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with little choice.