Last week (Feb. 2nd, 2009) the UK was hit be the biggest snowstorm in 18 years. London received 6 inches of snow causing traffic to come to a standstill and even some subways were disabled. Schools closed, busses stopped running, flights were canceled at Heathrow airport, and lorry drivers found themselves stranded.

Many Londoners stayed home due to the disruption of transportation. Londoners are a sturdy bunch and take events such as the snowstorm in stride. After all, these are the same people who survived the ‘Blitz’ of World War Two when London was subject to nightly bombing. So just what did Londoners do to entertain themselves while stranded at home? They played bingo!

During the snowstorm some online payment services reported a large surge in the number of online bingo transactions. Since online bingo is incredibly popular in the UK this came as no surprise. Instead of grousing about the inclement weather many Britons simply logged on to their favorite online bingo website and whiled away the time with a game of bingo.

In the UK online bingo has been one of the few growth industries left and last month some online bingo providers added jobs at a time when most industries are laying off employees. Online bingo has attracted new players in the UK due to the draconian smoking ban and the double taxation of bingo halls which has forced many to close. Many who played at traditional bingo clubs switched to online bingo and it was estimated that 63% of those who played at land based halls would switch to online bingo.

For those whose internet service was not disrupted online bingo was a Godsend. Online bingo is an inexpensive form of entertainment and helped many to while away those hours while homebound. Inveterate online bingo players really don’t need a snowstorm as an excuse to play online bingo. It’s lots of fun and can be very lucrative.