Will the Smoking Ban in Britain Drive Bingo Players On to the Internet?
Posted in Bingo on 10/05/2024 05:25 pm by Eileen
A lot has been written in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry struggling as a result of the cigarette ban in the UK. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. But can the online adaptation of this classic game offer a lifeline, or might it not compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?
Bingo is an ancient game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to go to the bingo halls rather than the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the enforcement of the anti smoking law across Britain.
Players will no longer be able to smoke whilst marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public locations will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite places where people like to smoke.
The results of the cigarette ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Of course they have not abandoned this ancient game?
The answer is on the internet. People know that they can play bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and cig and still enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the web could never replace the social aspect of going down to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the law has left a number of bingo players with no option.