Will the Smoking Ban in England Take Bingo Enthusiasts Online?
An abundance has been talked in the press recently regarding the bingo industry singing the blues because of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the web version of this quintessential game provide a reprieve, or will it never compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had experienced a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a weekend. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti smoking law throughout Britain.
No longer will enthusiasts be able to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most common areas where folks enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t given up on this familiar game?
The answer is on the net. People realize that they can bet on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and fag and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal part of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the rules have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.