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An abundance has been reported in the press not long ago concerning the bingo industry singing the blues because of the smoking ban in the UK. Conditions have grown so awful that in Scotland the Bingo industry has requested massive aid to assist in keeping the businesses from going bankrupt. But can the net version of this classic game present a salvation, or will it never compare to its real life equivalent?

Bingo has been an established game normally played by the "blue rinse" generation. Although the game lately had undergone a recent return in acceptance with younger men and women opting to visit the bingo parlours rather than the clubs on a Saturday night. All this is about to get flipped on its head with the legislating of the cigarette ban all over UK.

Players will no longer be permitted to smoke whilst marking numbers. Starting in the summer of 2007 all public locations will no longer be permitted to allow cigarettes in their venues and this includes Bingo halls, one of the most common areas where many people like to smoke.

The results of the cigarette ban can already be observed in Scotland where smoking is already barred in the bingo halls. Players have dropped and the industry is beyond a doubt fighting for to stay alive. But where did all the players go? Obviously they haven’t cast aside this ancient game?

The answer is online. Players know that they can wager on bingo from their computer while enjoying a beer and cigarette and still enjoy big prizes. This is a recent phenomenon and has timed itself almost perfectly with the ban on smoking.

Of course wagering on online is unlikely to replace the social part of going down to the bingo hall, but for a group of players the rules have left a lot of bingo enthusiasts with no alternative.