Could the Anti Smoking Law in the UK Drive Bingo Players On to the Internet?
A lot has been written in the press not long ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti smoking law in England. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the net variation of this quintessential game offer a reprieve, or will it never compare to its land based opposite?
Bingo has been an age old game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game recently had experienced a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlours in place of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti cigarette law all over England and Wales.
No more will enthusiasts be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most common areas where players like to smoke.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they haven’t given up on this ancient game?
The answer is on the web. People realize that they can play bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a cocktail and cig and still have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing on the net is unlikely to replace the social portion of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a number of bingo players with little choice.
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