An abundance has been written in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the anti smoking law in Britain. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the internet variation of this classic game present a salvation, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an age old game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo halls instead of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the enacting of the anti smoking law all over England and Wales.
No longer will gamblers be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored locations where people like to smoke.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plunged and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this established game?
The answer is on the net. People realise that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beer and smoke and still have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the web will never replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a number of bingo players with no alternative.
