One in three bingo club players will reduce their visits once the smoking ban is introduced in England on July 1, research suggests.
The study, involving more than 3,000 bingo players, reveals just how unhappy bingo players are about the smoking ban and anticipates an exodus out of clubs to online bingo.
According to the research, it is more likely that the incredibly high amount of online bingo playing who smoke (62 per cent) will stop playing in the clubs, with 33 per cent of them saying they will play less often and 21 per cent throwing away their membership.
Only 14 per cent of these smokers said that they will quit smoking so they can continue playing.
The study was carried out by bingo network operator St Minver.
Leigh Nissim, managing director of St Minver, said: "From our research, it appears that land-based bingo clubs are likely to suffer in wake of the smoking ban.
"Not only do players disagree with the ban, but they're less likely to visit clubs as a result.
"Clubs who haven't yet launched their online site must do so quickly to protect their business and customer base."
Smoke free bingo clubs will be more attractive for some players, in particular the elderly, the report found.
There are an estimated 3 million regular bingo players with a growing trend towards playing online, St Minver said.
The survey found that players enjoy the flexibility that online bingo brings to them.
They are happy to stay at home carrying out a variety of tasks at the same time such as cleaning, watching TV and also smoking whilst playing.
Internet players also feel that the online community helps bring an additional social element that they do not get at a club.
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