[ English ]

Much has been stated in the papers just a while ago about the bingo industry struggling because of the cigarette ban in England. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the internet version of this quintessential game present a escape, or will it never compare to its real life opposite?

Bingo is an familiar game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had undergone a recent return in appeal with younger people opting to hit the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the enforcement of the anti smoking law around England and Wales.

No more will players be permitted to smoke while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be permitted to allow smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular locations where people like to smoke.

The results of the anti smoking law can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlours. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Certainly they haven’t deserted this familiar game?

The answer is on the internet. Gamblers know that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a cocktail and cigarette and in the end, have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on cigarettes.

Of course gambling on on the internet is unlikely to replace the communal portion of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no alternative.