An abundance has been reported in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the smoking ban in Britain. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for huge aid to assist in keeping the industry afloat. But does the internet variation of this classic game provide a reprieve, or might it in no way compare to its land based opposite?

Bingo has been an age old game usually enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game of late had witnessed a recent return in acceptance with younger people opting to go to the bingo halls in place of the clubs on a Friday night. All this is about to be reversed with the enforcement of the smoking ban throughout United Kingdom.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public areas will no longer be allowed to permit cigarettes in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most popular areas where many people enjoy smoking.

The outcome of the smoking ban can already be looked at in Scotland where smoking is already prohibited in the bingo parlors. Numbers have dropped and the business is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Obviously they have not abandoned this familiar game?

The answer is online. Players realise that they can play bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a drink and fag and in the end, enjoy massive cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course betting on on the web is unlikely to replace the communal aspect of going over to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the rules have left a lot of bingo players with no alternative.