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A lot has been written in the papers not long ago about the bingo industry being hurt as a consequence of the cigarette ban in the UK. Things have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested huge tax breaks to help keep the industry alive. However can the online variation of this traditional game offer a salvation, or will it never compare to its bricks and mortar kin?

Bingo has been an age old game usually played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game lately had seen a recent resurgence in popularity with younger people opting to go to the bingo halls rather than the bars on a Saturday night. All this is about to be destroyed with the enforcement of the anti smoking law all over UK.

No more will gamblers be able to smoke at the same time marking off their numbers. Beginning in the summer of 2007 every public place will not be permitted to allow smoking in their buildings and this includes Bingo parlors, one of the most common places where folks like to smoke.

The effects of the smoking ban can already be felt in Scotland where smoking is already banned in the bingo parlors. Profits have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for its life. But where did the players go? Certainly they haven’t cast aside this familiar game?

The answer is online. People realise that they can enjoy bingo using their computer at the same time enjoying a beer and cig and in the end, have a chance at monstrous cash rewards. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself bordering on perfect with the anti cigarette law.

Of course wagering on on the web could never replace the collective portion of heading down to the bingo parlour, but for a demographic of players the law has left a lot of bingo players with little alternative.