Will the Cigarette Ban in England Force Bingo Players Online?
Much has been reported in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However can the web version of this traditional game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo is an established game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game lately had seen a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo parlours instead of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the smoking ban all over England and Wales.
No longer will enthusiasts be allowed to smoke while dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common places where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlours. Players have dropped and the industry is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this ancient game?
The answer is online. Players know that they can bet on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little choice.