Might the Anti Cigarette Law in the UK Take Bingo Players Online?
A lot has been written in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But does the net adaptation of this traditional game present a reprieve, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo is an enduring game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent increase in acceptance with younger members of society opting to go to the bingo halls instead of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti smoking law across England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite places where many people like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they haven’t abandoned this ancient game?
The answer is online. Gamblers know that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a drink and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on on the web could never replace the social part of going down to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the rules have left many bingo players with no option.