A lot has been written in the papers not long ago concerning the bingo industry being hurt as a result of the cigarette ban in Britain. Things have become so bad that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive aid to assist in keeping the businesses alive. But can the internet variation of this traditional game provide a lifeline, or might it in no way compare to its land based relative?

Bingo is an familiar game generally played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had experienced a recent comeback in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlors in place of the bars on a weekend. This is all about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the anti cigarette law across England and Wales.

Players will no longer be permitted to puff on cigarettes at the same time dabbing numbers. Starting in the summer of ‘07 all public places will no longer be permitted to allow smoking in their locations and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most popular locations where many people enjoy smoking.

The outcome of the cigarette ban can already be observed 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 did the players go? Surely they haven’t forgotten this familiar game?

The answer is on the web. Players are now realizing that they can wager on bingo using their computer while enjoying a beer and smoke and still enjoy monstrous jackpots. This is a recent anomaly and has timed itself just about perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course playing on the web will never replace the collective aspect of heading down to the bingo parlor, but for a demographic of people the governing edicts have left a good many bingo players with little choice.