A lot has been stated in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti cigarette law in England. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the web version of this traditional game provide a salvation, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar kin?
Bingo has been an ancient game usually enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had experienced a recent increase in appeal with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law throughout United Kingdom.
No longer will players be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favored areas where folks enjoy smoking.
The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have plunged and the business is absolutely fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they have not abandoned this classic game?
The answer is on the web. Gamblers are now realizing that they can bet on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cig and still have a chance at huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself just about perfectly with the anti cigarette law.
Of course betting on on the internet could never replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the rules have left a good many bingo players with little choice.
This entry was posted on July 6, 2008, 2:48 pm and is filed under Bingo. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.