Much has been reported in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses afloat. But does the net adaptation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or will it in no way compare to its real life kin?
Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger people opting to go to the bingo parlours instead of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the cigarette ban all over UK.
No longer will players be able to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public area will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular places where people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not cast aside this ancient game?
The answer is on the web. Players realise that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, enjoy big prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social part of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of players the law has left a good many bingo players with little alternative.
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