Might the Smoking Ban in England Drive Bingo Players On to the Web?
Thursday, 2. April 2020
Much has been written in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the cigarette ban in England. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the web adaptation of this traditional game present a lifeline, or will it never compare to its land based equivalent?
Bingo has been an age old game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had seen a recent return in appeal with younger people opting to go to the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti cigarette law throughout Britain.
Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favored locations where players like to puff on cigarettes.
The effects of the anti cigarette law can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Certainly they have not given up on this classic game?
The answer is on the net. Players realise that they can enjoy bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and cig and in the end, have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the web is unlikely to replace the collective portion of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left many bingo players with little alternative.
Posted in Bingo by Taryn