An abundance has been talked in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the online version of this quintessential game provide a lifeline, or will it never compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in appeal with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the cigarette ban all over Britain.
No more will gamblers be allowed to smoke whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Certainly they haven’t abandoned this enduring game?
The answer is online. People are now realizing that they can enjoy bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and smoke and still have a chance at massive cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on online can never replace the social aspect of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the rules have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little option.