Can the Smoking Ban in England Force Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Web?
Much has been stated in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However can the internet variation of this traditional game provide a salvation, or will it never compare to its real life kin?
Bingo has been an familiar game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game lately had undergone a recent increase in popularity with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the enacting of the anti cigarette law throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular locations where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they haven’t given up on this classic game?
The answer is online. People realise that they can wager on bingo from their computer while enjoying a drink and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent development and has happened almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing online is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no alternative.
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