Can the Anti Smoking Law in England Force Bingo Players On to the Internet?
A lot has been reported in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax breaks to help keep the industry afloat. However can the web adaptation of this traditional game provide a salvation, or will it never compare to its real life opposite?
Bingo is an established game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent comeback in popularity with younger members of society opting to hit the bingo halls in place of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to change with the legislating of the smoking ban throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public area will not be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common locations where folks enjoy smoking.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Players have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. People realise that they can wager on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and cig and still enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the collective part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo players with little choice.