Will the Anti Smoking Law in Britain Force Bingo Players On to the Net?
An abundance has been stated in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the cigarette ban in England. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the businesses afloat. However will the online version of this traditional game offer a escape, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an familiar game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game of late had witnessed a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to go to the bingo parlours instead of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti smoking law across UK.
Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common areas where people like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they have not abandoned this age old game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realize that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course playing online can never replace the social aspect of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with little option.
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