Could the Smoking Ban in England Drive Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Web?
An abundance has been reported in the papers recently about the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti smoking law in Britain. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive aid to help keep the businesses alive. However will the internet adaptation of this quintessential game provide a salvation, or will it not compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had witnessed a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors rather than the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the introduction of the cigarette ban throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common locations where folks like to puff on cigarettes.
The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not deserted this classic game?
The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can participate in bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little choice.
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