A lot has been reported in the press recently about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses alive. But will the online adaptation of this classic game offer a escape, or might it never compare to its real life kin?
Bingo has been an classic game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent return in appeal with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo parlours instead of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti cigarette law around UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common locations where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this established game?
The answer is online. Players realise that they can play bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and fag and in the end, enjoy big jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the internet is unlikely to replace the social portion of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the law has left a lot of bingo players with little option.
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