02.26
Can the Smoking Ban in Britain Force Bingo Players Online?
An abundance has been reported in the press recently concerning the bingo industry struggling because of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big aid to assist in keeping the industry afloat. But will the online adaptation of this traditional game provide a salvation, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar relative?
Bingo has been an established game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlors rather than the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the enforcement of the cigarette ban all over UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favorite places where players like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can wager on bingo using their computer while enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still enjoy huge prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course betting on on the web is unlikely to replace the social aspect of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with no option.