Will the Smoking Ban in the UK Drive Bingo Players On to the Internet?
A lot has been stated in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax cuts to help keep the industry afloat. However will the internet adaptation of this quintessential game provide a escape, or might it in no way compare to its land based kin?
Bingo has been an ancient game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger members of society opting to go to the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti smoking law all over United Kingdom.
No more will players be allowed to smoke while dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common places where people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlors. Players have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Players realise that they can wager on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and fag and still enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course betting on on the web is unlikely to replace the collective part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the law has left a good many bingo players with no option.