Might the Smoking Ban in Britain Drive Bingo Players Online?
Much has been written in the press not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However can the net variation of this classic game present a salvation, or will it not compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo has been an enduring game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had experienced a recent return in appeal with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlors rather than the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enacting of the cigarette ban around Britain.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite locations where many people like to smoke.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t forgotten this age old game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers realize that they can bet on bingo using their computer while enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the net can never replace the collective aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the rules have left a good many bingo players with little option.