Recent events have created great concern for gaming and bingo halls in the UK. Some bingo halls across the country are even threatened with closure following a profits warning since the smoking ban.

Players are choosing to go outside and smoke and as result many bingo halls are suffering.  Furthermore, bingo bosses have also blamed the game’s heavy taxation and predicted that one in three clubs will close.
Dan Waugh, director of investor relations for the Rank Group, which operates bingo chain Mecca, said there had been a profits warning earlier this month. He said the chain closed 11 of its clubs earlier this year because they were not making enough money.

Waugh said, “Part of the reason is not just the smoking ban, but also that bingo is the most heavily taxed form of gambling and we just don’t understand the government’s policy. The Bingo Association estimates that one in three bingo clubs will close and there has been research to show that when this happens there will be a huge social effect in the community.”

What this all means, however, is that people are going to be heading home to play bingo online where they can smoke and play at their own leisure. Some have said that what has been very unfortunate news for one sector has been promising news for another.