Could the Cigarette Ban in Britain Drive Bingo Players On to the Web?
An abundance has been written in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti smoking law in England. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the online variation of this quintessential game provide a escape, or will it in no way compare to its real life relative?
Bingo is an ancient game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game lately had undergone a recent return in popularity with younger people deciding to hit the bingo halls instead of the bars on a Friday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the cigarette ban throughout England and Wales.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public location will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular areas where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already illegal in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t forgotten this established game?
The answer is on the internet. Players know that they can play bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and cigarette and still have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course playing on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a good many bingo players with little option.
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