Will the Cigarette Ban in England Take Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Internet?
Friday, 19. December 2025
An abundance has been stated in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the anti smoking law in the UK. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for massive tax cuts to help keep the industry afloat. But does the internet adaptation of this quintessential game provide a reprieve, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar peer?
Bingo has been an established game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had witnessed a recent increase in popularity with younger people opting to hit the bingo halls rather than the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti cigarette law all over England and Wales.
Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public place will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most common locations where players like to smoke.
The results of the anti cigarette law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlours. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Obviously they have not given up on this age old game?
The answer is online. People are now realizing that they can wager on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and cig and still have a chance at monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.
Of course gambling on on the web is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little option.
Posted in Bingo by Taryn