Will the Cigarette Ban in the UK Take Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Internet?
Thursday, 8. February 2024
Much has been written in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded huge tax cuts to help keep the industry alive. However will the internet adaptation of this traditional game offer a lifeline, or will it not compare to its real life kin?
Bingo has been an familiar game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. Although the game recently had seen a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlors instead of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the legislating of the cigarette ban around UK.
No longer will gamblers be permitted to puff on cigarettes while marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular locations where many people enjoy smoking.
The outcome of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not abandoned this familiar game?
The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realize that they can play bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.
Of course gambling on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the law has left a good many bingo players with little alternative.
Posted in Bingo by Taryn