Posted by Jace | Posted in Bingo | Posted on 18-12-2015
A lot has been reported in the papers recently about the bingo industry being hit as a result of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the internet variation of this classic game offer a salvation, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo has been an enduring game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent increase in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to hit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a weekend. This is all about to be reversed with the enforcement of the smoking ban throughout Britain.
Players will no longer be able to smoke while marking numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public areas will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favorite places where players enjoy smoking.
The results of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo halls. Numbers have plunged and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Certainly they have not deserted this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Players are now realizing that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and smoke and in the end, have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.
Of course gambling on on the internet could never replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the rules have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no option.