A lot has been talked in the press not long ago concerning the bingo industry being hit because of the smoking ban in the United Kingdom. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the internet adaptation of this quintessential game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?

Bingo has been an ancient game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game of late had witnessed a recent return in appeal with younger men and women deciding to visit the bingo halls in place of the discos on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the cigarette ban around England and Wales.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public place will not be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored places where people like to puff on cigarettes.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Profits have plummeted and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not forgotten this enduring game?

The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can play bingo in front of their computer while enjoying a drink and smoke and in the end, enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.

Of course playing on the internet is unlikely to replace the social part of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of players the governing edicts have left a number of bingo players with no choice.