Much has been reported in the press recently about the bingo industry being hit as a consequence of the anti cigarette law in England. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to assist in keeping the industry from going bankrupt. However will the internet version of this classic game offer a escape, or will it not compare to its real life equivalent?

Bingo is an familiar game normally enjoyed by the "blue rinse" generation. However the game recently had undergone a recent resurgence in appeal with younger people opting to visit the bingo parlours in place of the clubs on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the introduction of the anti smoking law all over Britain.

Players will no longer be allowed to puff on cigarettes whilst marking off their numbers. From the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be allowed to permit smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common places where players like to puff on cigarettes.

The outcome of the anti smoking law can already be seen in Scotland where cigarettes are already prohibited in the bingo parlors. Players have plummeted and the industry is literally fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Of course they haven’t cast aside this classic game?

The answer is online. People are now realizing that they can gamble on bingo using their computer while enjoying a beverage and cigarette and in the end, enjoy huge jackpots. This is a recent phenomenon and has happened almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course wagering on online is unlikely to replace the collective part of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left many bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.