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A lot has been talked in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry alive. But does the internet variation of this classic game provide a escape, or will it in no way compare to its land based peer?

Bingo has been an age old game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger people opting to hit the bingo halls instead of the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law all over England and Wales.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favored locations where many people like to smoke.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plunged and the business is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they have not abandoned this age old game?

The answer is online. Players are now realizing that they can bet on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and fag and still enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.

Of course gambling on on the net could never replace the communal aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.