A lot has been written in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the cigarette ban in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses alive. However will the web adaptation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or will it not compare to its land based kin?
Bingo is an age old game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game lately had seen a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people opting to visit the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the anti smoking law throughout UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public area will not be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored locations where players like to smoke.
The effects of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlors. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Obviously they have not cast aside this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers are now realizing that they can play bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the web is unlikely to replace the social part of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the law has left a lot of bingo players with little option.
September 6th, 2015
Tamara
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