Might the Cigarette Ban in Britain Drive Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Web?
A lot has been reported in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the cigarette ban in the UK. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive aid to help keep the businesses alive. But will the online variation of this classic game provide a lifeline, or might it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo is an familiar game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game lately had seen a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the enforcement of the cigarette ban all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to smoke while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public places will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common places where folks like to smoke.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not given up on this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. Players know that they can wager on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and smoke and in the end, have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course wagering on on the net will never replace the social portion of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no choice.