Much has been talked in the press just a while ago regarding the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the anti smoking law in Britain. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has called for massive aid to help keep the industry alive. But can the web version of this quintessential game provide a escape, or might it never compare to its real life kin?

Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. For all that the game recently had seen a recent comeback in popularity with younger men and women deciding to go to the bingo parlors rather than the bars on a Friday night. This is all about to be reversed with the enforcement of the smoking ban across UK.

No longer will players be allowed to smoke whilst dabbing numbers. Beginning in the summer of ‘07 every public location will not be allowed to permit smoking in their venues and this includes Bingo parlors, which are possibly the most common places where players like to smoke.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be seen in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo halls. Players have dropped and the industry is absolutely fighting for to stay alive. But where have all the players gone? Surely they have not deserted this enduring game?

The answer is on the web. People realise that they can bet on bingo from their computer whilst enjoying a cocktail and smoke and still enjoy big prizes. This is a recent development and has happened bordering on perfect with the ban on smoking.

Of course betting on on the web could never replace the communal portion of heading over to the bingo parlour, but for a group of men and women the rules have left a lot of bingo players with no option.