Might the Cigarette Ban in Britain Drive Bingo Enthusiasts Online?
A lot has been reported in the press just a while ago about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big aid to help keep the industry afloat. But can the net adaptation of this quintessential game present a lifeline, or might it not compare to its real life relative?
Bingo has been an classic game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlors instead of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to be reversed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law all over Britain.
Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular places where players enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo halls. Players have plunged and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t deserted this classic game?
The answer is online. Players are now realizing that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and smoke and still enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the net will never replace the collective portion of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the law has left a good many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.