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A lot has been written in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry struggling as a result of the cigarette ban in the UK. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. But will the online version of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or might it never compare to its real life opposite?

Bingo is an familiar game generally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game lately had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger people opting to go to the bingo halls instead of the discos on a weekend. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti cigarette law throughout UK.

Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of ‘07 every public location will not be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most popular locations where people like to smoke.

The effects of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Certainly they haven’t given up on this age old game?

The answer is on the internet. Players realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and smoke and in the end, have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.

Of course betting on on the net is unlikely to replace the social aspect of heading over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the law has left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.