Might the Anti Cigarette Law in the UK Force Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Net?
A lot has been written in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But can the net adaptation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or might it not compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo is an classic game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had experienced a recent increase in acceptance with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlours instead of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to be reversed with the introduction of the anti smoking law throughout UK.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common areas where people enjoy smoking.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this enduring game?
The answer is online. Players realize that they can enjoy bingo using their computer while enjoying a cocktail and fag and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course wagering on online is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little choice.
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