Might the Cigarette Ban in the United Kingdom Drive Bingo Players Online?


A lot has been reported in the papers just a while ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a result of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry afloat. But does the online adaptation of this classic game present a lifeline, or will it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar kin?

Bingo is an classic game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game of late had seen a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlours in place of the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the legislating of the anti smoking law around Britain.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public place will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite locations where people like to puff on cigarettes.

The results of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they have not forgotten this enduring game?

The answer is online. People realise that they can wager on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has happened almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.

Of course playing on the internet is unlikely to replace the social part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.

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