An abundance has been talked in the papers recently about the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti smoking law in the United Kingdom. Things have become so poor that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested big tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. However will the web variation of this classic game offer a escape, or might it never compare to its bricks and mortar equivalent?

Bingo has been an ancient game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. In any case the game of late had experienced a recent return in appeal with younger members of society deciding to go to the bingo parlours rather than the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enacting of the anti smoking law around England and Wales.

Players will no longer be able to smoke at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common areas where players like to smoke.

The results of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already forbidden in the bingo parlours. Profits have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Surely they have not forgotten this ancient game?

The answer is on the web. People know that they can wager on bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beverage and cigarette and still have a chance at big cash rewards. This is a recent development and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.

Of course gambling on on the net is unlikely to replace the social aspect of going down to the bingo parlour, but for a group of people the law has left a number of bingo players with little option.