A lot has been talked in the press recently concerning the bingo industry being hit as a result of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses afloat. However can the net variation of this classic game provide a reprieve, or will it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?

Bingo is an ancient game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game recently had experienced a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlors in place of the discos on a Friday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the enacting of the anti cigarette law all over Britain.

No more will players be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favored locations where people enjoy smoking.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already banned in the bingo parlours. Profits have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Obviously they haven’t given up on this familiar game?

The answer is on the internet. Gamblers realize that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and fag and in the end, enjoy huge cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.

Of course gambling on on the net could never replace the communal aspect of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of men and women the rules have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with little option.