07.20
Could the Anti Cigarette Law in the United Kingdom Drive Bingo Enthusiasts Online?
A lot has been written in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry struggling because of the smoking ban in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However does the internet variation of this traditional game provide a escape, or will it in no way compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an ancient game historically played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people deciding to hit the bingo halls rather than the discos on a weekend. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the smoking ban across Britain.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most popular places where people like to smoke.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Surely they have not cast aside this age old game?
The answer is online. Gamblers are now realizing that they can play bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a drink and fag and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the web will never replace the communal part of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with little choice.