Much has been written in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit as a result of the cigarette ban in the UK. Things have grown so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. However can the online adaptation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar peer?

Bingo has been an classic game generally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game lately had experienced a recent increase in appeal with younger people opting to go to the bingo parlors in place of the clubs on a weekend. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the smoking ban around UK.

Players will no longer be permitted to smoke while marking off their numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public location will not be allowed to permit cigarettes in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favored areas where people enjoy smoking.

The results of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo halls. Numbers have dropped and the business is absolutely struggling for its life. But where have all the players gone? Of course they haven’t abandoned this established game?

The answer is on the web. Gamblers realize that they can wager on bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the anti cigarette law.

Of course playing on the web will never replace the collective aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a group of people the rules have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no option.