05.15
Might the Anti Cigarette Law in England Drive Bingo Players On to the Internet?
A lot has been talked in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to help keep the businesses alive. However can the online adaptation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo is an age old game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti smoking law around Britain.
No more will gamblers be allowed to smoke while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and fag and still enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the communal part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.