Society | Feb 27

A brief history of Bingo

The game of Bingo is hugely popular all around the world, with thousands of people playing every single day of the year and that includes over 4 million people in the UK who love to play each year.

Bingo Halls have seen huge numbers of players, games and wins, but the shift in gaming place seems to have now been taken over by people wanting greater ease of access. So many players are choosing to play Bingo online. But before that, one must read bingo calls guide to increase chances of winning more.

Bingo online has been a great hit as it has opened up the world of Bingo to so many more players who could not access Bingo Halls because of where they lived, times the Halls were open, or due to mobility issue. Playing Bingo online has also meant that younger players have been drawn to the game as well, which was more commonly associated with the older generation when played in Bingo Halls.

Why is Bingo Loved?

Bingo is loved because it is a fun and fast-paced game with no rules to learn in particular and anyone can participate. You do not have to learn any form of strategy and do not have to be an expert in any sort of field to be able to play.

Playing Bingo is a very sociable activity where you can meet up with other like-minded friends or meet new people with a common interest. It does not cost a great deal of money for you to have a fun night out or for you to play on your mobile device either.

Bingo keeps your attention for long periods of time, even for people who think they have shorter attention spans and is a great way to keep your mind active no matter what age you are.

Where Did Bingo Originate From?

There are lots of stories as to where Bingo started its life. One of the most common stories is that it came from Italy and shares links with the Italian Lottery. It is said that is was adapted from the Italian Lottery as it travelled through many different countries, different social groups played it, and as it transitioned through different time periods. A good example of how much it changed was as it moved from the original version closely linked to the Italian Lottery to having been played by the French Aristocrats.

Though the Bingo played at this time is not something we would recognise as the Bingo we know and love today, we would still be able to determine that it was Bingo. The Germans, still to this day, use the more traditional variation of Bingo in their education system to help their children in schools to recall information for many different subjects.

American Bingo

An interesting story as to how Bingo came about originates from America. Originally, Bingo here was known as Beano, and began its life as a game that toured around America with the Carnivals as another way of entertaining the people who went to watch the various other acts that toured around with the Carnival. One day, when a certain Carnival arrived at Atlanta, a Mr Edwin Lowe, was amazed at the crowd that Beano drew and how well this new game kept their attention. Some of the players he watched did not leave the game of Beano until they were physically asked to leave at 3 am when the Carnival wanted to close for the night.

It was 1927 when Lowe saw his first game of Beano take place and on doing so, he took this idea back to New York with him, where he decided to make a few changes to the game along the way. These changes included playing with beans not money, and he made playing cards for each player, as well as creating rubber stamps to form the numbers on the cards he had created. When he took this new game around America, his audiences loved it and each state waited impatiently until he visited them so that they could play this much talked about game, too.

Lowe played the game of Beano at parties, charity functions and public auctions, as well as with his friends, which was actually how Beano became Bingo. In the excitement of winning Beano, one of Lowe’s friends accidentally shouted “Bingo!” and the name stuck. Though this was completely accidental, this name has stayed with the game ever since.

Bingo in Britain

British Bingo is very similar but not identical to that of American Bingo, and has also altered throughout its history. The one big difference is that British Bingo has always had a draw machine involved within the game to ensure that no cheating, fairness and a more sophisticated approach to Bingo could be achieved. This could very much be seen as an original version of a Random Number Generator which controls our online Bingo rooms today but with much less physical energy needing to be exerted.

Modern British Bingo

The majority of Bingo played in Britain today is done so via online methods. This is the most popular way to play and has opened the game up to many different age groups and social groups, too. It is no longer associated with the older population, the retired, and is not such a female orientated game. In fact, it also has some pretty famous A-listers following it who are hugely fond of the game despite being enormously wealthy, so clearly, there is more to Bingo than the potential winnings.

Online Bingo is controlled by a Random Number Generator so it is always completely fair and no cheating can ever occur. No human has to spin the draw machine as it is all controlled by a code of numbers instead.

Although many games decrease in popularity as they increase in age, Bingo has done quite the opposite. As technology advances, it seems that Bingo only increases in popularity and it is not difficult to see why this fun, fast-paced and inclusive game is such a constant hit with its players.


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