Much has been talked in the press not long ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt because of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax cuts to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But will the net variation of this traditional game offer a escape, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?

Bingo is an enduring game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game lately had witnessed a recent return in appeal with younger members of society opting to visit the bingo halls instead of the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to change with the introduction of the cigarette ban around England and Wales.

Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public places will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most popular areas where players enjoy smoking.

The effects of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo halls. Profits have plunged and the industry is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Certainly they haven’t abandoned this familiar game?

The answer is online. Players know that they can participate in bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a cocktail and fag and still have a chance at massive cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course betting on on the net can never replace the communal part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of players the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with little alternative.