The earliest record of Bingo in history is in Italy in the mid 1500’s. Bingo as we know it today (including 90 Ball Bingo) is a direct descendant of Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia, which is the Italian national lottery. By the late 1770’s the game had begun to spread across Europe. It first captured the interest of the French and later Germany. The Germans used the game as an educational tool, to help with the teaching of multiplication tables, spelling and history to children.
From Middle Ages Till Modern Day Bingo
The period between the 1800s and modern day is a bit hazy in the history of Bingo. It does not show up again on the timeline, until the 1920’s when it was recorded as being a popular game played at fairs and carnivals in the US.
Edwin Lowe and Modern-Day Bingo
Edwin Lowe was an American toy maker. Lowe was traveling across the US when he stopped at a fair in Georgia. He discovered a group of people playing a game that they called “Beano”.
In Beano, there was a caller, who pulled wooden discs with numbers on them out of a box, called out the numbers, while players matched the numbers to the numbered cards in front of them by placing a bean on the number on the card as it was called out.
The conclusion of the game came when a player had a full line of beans on their card either horizontal, vertical or diagonal, and called out “Beano!” signifying to other players that he or she had won the round.
Edwin Lowe could not help but notice how mesmerized the players of the game were. The pitchman at the carnival attempted to close up many times that night, with players ignoring him, until eventually at 3am, he finally managed to kick everyone out and lock up.
This made Lowe realize what a gold mine he had stumbled upon. He returned to New York, and set about creating his own version of the game, which once ready, he shared with his friends. The story goes that one of his friends got so excited by the game that she shouted “Bingo” instead of “Beano” when she won, which inspired the change in the name.
The first Bingo Lowe released to the public consisted of 24 cards. Soon realizing how popular the game was set to become, he enlisted the help of a Columbia University professor Carl Leffler, who using his vast knowledge of mathematics, assisted Lowe in the design of 6000 cards, all with different number sequences.
Bingo in Britain
These days the 2 most commonly played versions of Bingo are 90 Ball Bingo and 75 Ball Bingo. 90 Ball Bingo is the version most favoured by the British, and in order to see how it began, we need to retrace our steps back to the early 1900’s. Due to the Britain’s extensive military reach, its soldiers we exposed to a large variety of different cultures, and in this way first came across a version of modern Bingo. It was then that a version of 90 ball bingo was established as a recreational activity enjoyed by soldiers.
When Edwin Lowe’s version arrived on British shores however, the game went public, and by the 1950’s Bingo was firmly established as one of the United Kingdom’s favourite recreational pastimes.
Bingo Loses Popularity
90 Ball Bingo continued to grow in popularity in the later part of the 20th century with Bingo halls popping up all over Britain and many players winning big on a regular basis. There were almost 600 British Bingo halls counted In 2005. Fast forward just 10 years, and this number had decreased to 400. 33% less in only a decade.
This is attributed to a variety of reasons – the 2007 ban on smoking being one of them, but also the image associated with a Bingo hall – being a place frequented by elderly folk. Attempts made by Bingo operators to bring their offerings up to date to entice the younger generation to play, were met with little success, and the Bingo industry continued to struggle.
The Internet Rescued Bingo
When the internet first went mainstream, Bingo operators quickly realized that they could reach the younger generation, as well as a massive previously unreachable audience, and Bingo made its digital comeback, with just about every CAD casino adding the game to its portfolio.
Being able to access Bingo games online took away the perceived stigma attached to visiting Bingo halls, and online Bingo sites quickly grew in number and popularity, which brings us up to the present day. These days there are a multitude of online Bingo sites popping up all over the internet with a wide variety of choices of game, thus ensuring that Bingo remains a firm favourite for years to come.
