A lot has been written in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But does the internet version of this quintessential game provide a reprieve, or will it not compare to its land based peer?
Bingo is an classic game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent return in popularity with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo halls instead of the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti cigarette law around UK.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular places where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this established game?
The answer is on the web. People realize that they can play bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and cigarette and in the end, enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the internet will never replace the communal part of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.