An abundance has been reported in the papers recently regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti cigarette law in the UK. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However does the internet version of this traditional game present a lifeline, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar kin?

Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent increase in appeal with younger members of society opting to go to the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Saturday night. This is all about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law around England and Wales.

Players will no longer be able to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public location will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlours, which are possibly the most favored places where folks like to puff on cigarettes.

The results of the anti cigarette law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already illegal in the bingo parlors. Numbers have plunged and the business is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did the players go? Surely they haven’t abandoned this classic game?

The answer is on the net. Gamblers realize that they can enjoy bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and cig and still have a chance at huge prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.

Of course gambling 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.