Much has been reported in the papers not long ago regarding the bingo industry singing the blues as a consequence of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry afloat. However does the internet variation of this classic game offer a salvation, or will it in no way compare to its land based equivalent?

Bingo has been an familiar game normally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. However the game lately had experienced a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors instead of the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the smoking ban across Britain.

Players will no longer be permitted to smoke at the same time marking numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public location will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most popular places where folks like to smoke.

The outcome of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already barred in the bingo parlours. Numbers have dropped and the industry is literally fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Of course they have not abandoned this age old game?

The answer is on the net. Players realise that they can enjoy bingo from their computer while enjoying a drink and fag and still enjoy monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent anomaly and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on cigarettes.

Of course betting on online could never replace the communal part of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little choice.