Can the Anti Cigarette Law in the UK Force Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Internet?
A lot has been reported in the press not long ago about the bingo industry struggling because of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the internet adaptation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or will it never compare to its real life equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had undergone a recent comeback in popularity with younger people opting to hit the bingo halls instead of the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the legislating of the anti cigarette law across Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common locations where players enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Players have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Surely they haven’t forgotten this age old game?
The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can wager on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a drink and cigarette and still enjoy big prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.
Of course playing online is unlikely to replace the collective portion of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of players the law has left a good many bingo players with no choice.
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