The introduction and enforcement of the smoking bill in the UK is leading many industry pundits to predict a decline in in brick and mortar land based leisure and recreation activities such as bingo halls in the UK.

Online bingo jackpot is on the cards

Playing at home is becoming more popular and the big operators are keen not to miss out on the millions.

GILL LARNER, a 47-year-old from south Wales, has been playing bingo for more than 20 years. Two or three times a week she checks off her game card in the hope that her numbers will be called and she can claim a tasty cash prize.

Sometimes the pot is a few pounds, other times it can be thousands. She loves the excitement of the game, as well as the chance to have a natter with her pals and catch up on the gossip.

Since last month, though, Larner has mainly been playing at home in front of her computer rather than at the local club. Because of a disability, she said she relies on her husband to take her, but since the smoking ban was introduced in Wales last month, he refuses to go. If she can get a lift with friends, Larner still visits the club, but most of her play these days is online.

She is not alone. Julie Stewart, 40, a mother of two, has also cut back since the smoking ban came in. She now plays every night on the website set up by her local bingo chain. And there are thousands more people flocking to the dozens of sites that have sprung up.

In stark contrast to bingo halls, where high taxes, restrictions on slot machines and the smoking ban � which comes into force in July in England � are threatening their financial viability, the online game is booming.

Last week, St Minver, a company that runs bingo sites on behalf of brands including But-lins and Virgin, published a survey suggesting that 63% of bingo-playing smokers would visit clubs less often and switch to internet games. Roger Devlin, chairman of Jackpotjoy, one of the more established internet bingo operations, said there was double-digit growth in Scotland after the smoking ban was introduced there in March 2006.

While it is undoubtedly a big help, the pattern of growth and the numbers involved suggest the smoking ban is not the only factor driving players to the net. According to Global Betting & Gaming Consultants (GBGC), online bingo games in Britain generated gross wins of $143m (�72.4m) in 2006, up from $98m the previous year, and $61m in 2004.

It is only in the past 15 months or so that the two biggest British bingo companies, Gala and Mecca, have launched web versions. The market has been driven by the likes of Jackpotjoy. com, where sales at the parent company, Gamesys, rose from �587,000 in 2003 to �9.5m in 2005; Cashcade, operator of sites including Foxybingo.com; and The Sun newspaper (owned by The Sunday Times�s parent company, News Corporation), which has migrated its paper-based game to the net. story link

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