Can the Cigarette Ban in Britain Drive Bingo Players On to the Web?
A lot has been talked in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the smoking ban in England. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge aid to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the online adaptation of this traditional game offer a salvation, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had experienced a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo halls in place of the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the introduction of the smoking ban across United Kingdom.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not permitted in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Of course they have not abandoned this ancient game?
The answer is online. Players know that they can participate in bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and cigarette and in the end, enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course wagering on online will never replace the collective part of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.
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