[ English ]

A lot has been reported in the papers just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hit because of the anti cigarette law in the United Kingdom. Conditions have grown so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for big tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry alive. However can the web version of this quintessential game offer a reprieve, or will it not compare to its land based kin?

Bingo has been an enduring game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game recently had seen a recent comeback in appeal with younger people deciding to visit the bingo parlors instead of the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to get flipped on its head with the introduction of the anti cigarette law around Britain.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes while marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most favorite places where people like to puff on cigarettes.

The outcome of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo halls. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Obviously they haven’t given up on this enduring game?

The answer is on the internet. Gamblers know that they can wager on bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and smoke and in the end, enjoy massive prizes. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti smoking law.

Of course betting on on the web could never replace the collective part of going down to the bingo hall, but for a demographic of people the rules have left a number of bingo enthusiasts with little alternative.