Will the Cigarette Ban in England Take Bingo Enthusiasts Online?


Much has been talked in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues because of the cigarette ban in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive aid to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However will the web adaptation of this quintessential game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its real life peer?

Bingo has been an enduring game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had experienced a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti smoking law throughout England and Wales.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public area will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common places where players enjoy smoking.

The results of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo halls. Numbers have plunged and the industry is literally fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not given up on this ancient game?

The answer is on the internet. Gamblers are now realizing that they can bet on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and fag and still enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.

Of course gambling on on the internet is unlikely to replace the social aspect of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little option.

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