A lot has been reported in the press just a while ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the anti cigarette law in Britain. Things have become so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive aid to assist in keeping the businesses alive. However can the online variation of this classic game present a lifeline, or will it never compare to its real life equivalent?

Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. However the game lately had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger people deciding to hit the bingo parlours rather than the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti cigarette law around United Kingdom.

No more will players be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst marking numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 every public area will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most favored places where many people enjoy smoking.

The results of the anti smoking law can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo halls. Players have dropped and the business is literally fighting for its life. But where have all the players gone? Surely they haven’t cast aside this ancient game?

The answer is on the internet. Players know that they can play bingo using their computer whilst enjoying a beer and cig and in the end, have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent development and has happened just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course betting on on the web is unlikely to replace the collective aspect of going over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the law has left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.