Can the Smoking Ban in the United Kingdom Drive Bingo Players On to the Net?
A lot has been written in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the anti smoking law in the UK. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the net variation of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlors. Profits have plummeted and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they haven’t abandoned this established game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers realise that they can bet on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the rules have left a number of bingo players with no option.