Will the Cigarette Ban in the United Kingdom Drive Bingo Enthusiasts On to the Internet?

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Much has been reported in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt because of the smoking ban in Britain. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However can the web version of this traditional game present a reprieve, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar peer?

Bingo has been an familiar game historically enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had seen a recent increase in acceptance with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlours rather than the discos on a Friday night. All this is about to change with the enforcement of the smoking ban all over United Kingdom.

Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public location will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favorite places where people enjoy smoking.

The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this established game?

The answer is on the web. Players realize that they can play bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and cig and in the end, enjoy massive jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.

Of course gambling on on the web is unlikely to replace the social aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.