Much has been written in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry struggling as a consequence of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for huge aid to help keep the businesses alive. However will the internet adaptation of this quintessential game offer a salvation, or might it never compare to its land based equivalent?

Bingo has been an established game usually played by the "blue haired" generation. In any case the game of late had undergone a recent resurgence in acceptance with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo halls rather than the bars on a Saturday night. This is all about to be reversed with the legislating of the anti smoking law around England and Wales.

No more will gamblers be permitted to smoke whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 every public area will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most favored locations where folks enjoy smoking.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already forbidden in the bingo parlors. Players have plummeted and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where have the players gone? Certainly they haven’t given up on this familiar game?

The answer is on the net. Players realise that they can play bingo in front of their computer at the same time enjoying a beverage and smoke and still have a chance at monstrous jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.

Of course wagering on on the net is unlikely to replace the social part of going down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of men and women the law has left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.