Smoking ban to be reviewed in bingo halls

When smoking was banned from public places in 2007, UK Bingo halls up and down the country took a massive hit. It’s estimated that up to half of customers may have been lost for bingo halls around the UK due to the smoking ban. Good news for online bingo halls but not good news for bingo in general. However now we have a new government and it has been announced that ministers are to meet and the smoking ban is to be reviewed in bingo halls.

Since the smoking ban was introduced in 2007 a massive 130 bingo halls around the UK have closed their doors. That’s twenty percent of the total of land based bingo halls around the UK and it’s not just people who play bingo who are affected either, thirty-nine public houses close their doors forever in the UK every single week and that has triggered this review by the new government.

This autumn, government ministers are to review the anti-smoking laws and one MP is fighting to have the way pubs and bingo halls are affected by the smoking ban. A ban he says is draconian.

Paul Talboys, boss of the Bingo Association says that while they aren’t anti the smoking ban, the do believe there are better ways of implementing the actual ban. The Bingo industry has been badly affected due to the client base, around 50% of bingo hall visitor smoke according to surveys done recently and any lifeline for the bingo hall industry right now will no doubt be greatly accepted.

28th June 2010

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Article Last Updated: 25/08/2010 10:17:45