Much has been stated in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry singing the blues as a result of the anti smoking law in England. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has asked for big tax breaks to help keep the industry from going bankrupt. However will the online adaptation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or will it not compare to its bricks and mortar kin?

Bingo is an familiar game generally enjoyed by the "blue haired" generation. For all that the game of late had witnessed a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlors instead of the clubs on a weekend. All this is about to be reversed with the introduction of the cigarette ban throughout UK.

Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes while dabbing numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public location will not be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, which are possibly the most popular places where many people enjoy smoking.

The effects of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where cigarettes are already not permitted in the bingo parlours. Profits have dropped and the business is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Of course they have not deserted this established game?

The answer is on the internet. Players know that they can gamble on bingo in front of their computer whilst enjoying a beer and smoke and in the end, have a chance at huge jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course wagering on on the internet can never replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a lot of bingo players with no choice.