Can the Smoking Ban in Britain Force Bingo Players On to the Net?
An abundance has been stated in the press recently concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the anti smoking law in England. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. But can the online adaptation of this traditional game present a reprieve, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo is an familiar game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had undergone a recent return in appeal with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the smoking ban throughout Britain.
No more will players be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most popular places where people like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not forgotten this classic game?
The answer is on the web. Players realize that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cigarette and still enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the net could never replace the collective aspect of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the governing edicts have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no option.