Much has been talked in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the online variation of this classic game provide a salvation, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?

Bingo has been an established game historically played by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people deciding to go to the bingo parlors rather than the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to change with the enacting of the anti cigarette law around England and Wales.

Players will no longer be able to smoke whilst dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common places where players enjoy smoking.

The effects of the cigarette ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already not allowed in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the industry is beyond a doubt struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they haven’t given up on this classic game?

The answer is online. Gamblers know that they can wager on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and still have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti smoking law.

Of course gambling on online can never replace the collective portion of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left many bingo players with no alternative.