A lot has been stated in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive tax cuts to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the internet version of this quintessential game offer a escape, or might it never compare to its real life kin?

Bingo has been an established game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had experienced a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people opting to go to the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the enacting of the anti smoking law all over England and Wales.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public places will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most favorite locations where players like to puff on cigarettes.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already not allowed in the bingo halls. Numbers have plummeted and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they have not deserted this enduring game?

The answer is online. Gamblers know that they can participate in bingo from their computer while enjoying a cocktail and fag and in the end, enjoy monstrous prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.

Of course gambling on online is unlikely to replace the social part of going over to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the rules have left many bingo players with little choice.