[ English ]

An abundance has been talked in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues because of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge tax breaks to help keep the businesses from going bankrupt. But does the internet variation of this classic game provide a lifeline, or might it in no way compare to its bricks and mortar opposite?

Bingo has been an enduring game normally played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger members of society deciding to hit the bingo halls rather than the clubs on a weekend. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti cigarette law throughout United Kingdom.

Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular places where players like to smoke.

The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be looked at in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Profits have plunged and the business is literally struggling for to stay alive. But where have the players gone? Certainly they haven’t forgotten this familiar game?

The answer is online. Gamblers realise that they can gamble on bingo from their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and cigarette and still have a chance at massive prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course gambling on online can never replace the communal part of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with no choice.