Will the Smoking Ban in England Take Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Net?
Much has been talked in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the online adaptation of this traditional game offer a escape, or might it in no way compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo is an ancient game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people opting to hit the bingo halls instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the smoking ban around England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not forgotten this age old game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can wager on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and fag and still enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course wagering on on the net could never replace the social portion of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with little option.