A lot has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax cuts to assist in keeping the businesses alive. But can the online adaptation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or will it not compare to its land based peer?
Bingo has been an established game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people opting to hit the bingo halls in place of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the smoking ban throughout United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public area will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite locations where players enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not given up on this ancient game?
The answer is online. People realize that they can wager on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course betting on on the web will never replace the social part of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.