A lot has been talked in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge aid to help keep the industry alive. But can the web variation of this classic game provide a reprieve, or will it in no way compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an ancient game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had witnessed a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo halls instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the introduction of the cigarette ban throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed 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 buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored places where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Players have plunged and the industry is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they haven’t given up on this age old game?
The answer is online. People realize that they can play bingo using their computer while enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no option.