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Much has been stated in the press recently about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the net adaptation of this traditional game offer a reprieve, or will it never compare to its land based equivalent?

Bingo has been an established game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent return in appeal with younger people deciding to hit the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the anti smoking law around England and Wales.

No longer will players be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public places will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common areas where folks like to puff on cigarettes.

The results of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the industry is literally struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t abandoned this classic game?

The answer is on the internet. People know that they can enjoy bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a drink and cig and in the end, enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course wagering on on the net could never replace the social aspect of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the law has left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with little option.