Can the Smoking Ban in England Force Bingo Players Online?

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A lot has been talked in the papers recently concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to help keep the businesses afloat. However will the internet variation of this quintessential game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its land based opposite?

Bingo has been an enduring game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had seen a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people deciding to go to the bingo halls instead of the discos on a weekend. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law around England and Wales.

Players will no longer be permitted to smoke while marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 every public location will not be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular areas where people like to smoke.

The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they haven’t cast aside this enduring game?

The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realize that they can play bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.

Of course wagering on online can never replace the collective aspect of heading down to the bingo hall, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a number of bingo players with no choice.