Will the Smoking Ban in Britain Drive Bingo Players On to the Internet?
Posted in Bingo on 03/11/2020 07:25 am by Eileen
Much has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti smoking law in the UK. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax cuts to assist in keeping the industry alive. But will the online adaptation of this quintessential game provide a reprieve, or will it never compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had seen a recent comeback in appeal with younger men and women opting to hit the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the introduction of the anti cigarette law throughout Britain.
No longer will players be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favored places where players like to smoke.
The outcome of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo halls. Players have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they haven’t abandoned this classic game?
The answer is online. People realize that they can participate in bingo from their computer while enjoying a cocktail and fag and in the end, enjoy big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the internet could never replace the communal aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of players the law has left many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.