[ English ]

Much has been stated in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has demanded massive tax breaks to help keep the businesses afloat. However does the web variation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar peer?

Bingo is an established game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had witnessed a recent resurgence in popularity with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo halls in place of the discos on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the smoking ban around England and Wales.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public areas will not be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, one of the most favorite places where folks enjoy smoking.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlors. Players have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt struggling for its life. But where did all the players go? Certainly they have not abandoned this classic game?

The answer is on the net. People realise that they can bet on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a beverage and fag and still enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.

Of course betting on on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left a good many bingo enthusiasts with little option.