How Bingo evolved

Bingo has become a highly celebrated game at various types of social events. It is being played for purely entertainment purposes with little or no money involved while on the other hand it is also a popular casino game.

The game Bingo as we know it today was originally started in Italy as a National Lottery in the 1500’s and was known as Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia. What is surprising is that, even today this lottery is played enthusiastically in Italy on every Saturday.

Coming from Italy, the game spread its wings into France through Alps and was known as ‘Le Lotto’. It is believed that in late 1770’s the game was favorite pass-time of rich Frenchmen.

The Germans had their share in the history of this game as well. The Germans played some version of Bingo in the 1800’s but it was mainly targeted towards students to assist them with their spelling & Mathematics. It is believed that some that somewhere in the late 1920’s, this game reached North America & was originally known as ‘beano’.

The first historical record that exists, says that ‘Beano’ was played for the first time at a Carnival at Atlanta, Georgia. A traveling New York salesman, Edwin S. Lowe visited this carnival for the first time & fell in love with this beautiful game, which could capture so many people. It is said that someone accidently yelled ‘bingo’, instead of ‘beano’, which became the new name adopted by Edwin.

Edwin Lowe hired a Columbia University math professor, Carl Leffler, to increase the count of various combinations in bingo cards. It is said that Leffler found nearly 6000 innovative bingo cards, post which he went mad.

Post that all is history, as Bingo caught on like fire. It sped throughout the world in various versions. Initially it even recorded that the Church also has its contribution in making it popular. In early 1930’s, a Catholic Priest from Pennsylvania met with Edwin & proposed Bingo for rising funds for the institution. From then on shortly after, Bingo became a popular event in Churches to attract people.

Today Bingo has become extremely popular & is played in various formats & versions, including the online. Bingo is a very popular online game sold through lotteries, which are licensed. The tickets are purchased just like Lotto with a receipt & a bingo card. The Casinos are offering commercial Bingo games both online & offline. In fact, it’s a very popular Bingo is quite a popular game at all casinos in the world.

Being a simple game to play, it is quite popular online too. Many sites are offering the game Bingo either with money or you can simply play bingo for free online. Another reason for the popularity of Bingo online is the concept of ‘progressive jackpots’, which are available at online sites but not at Bingo Halls.

There is a famous newsletter targeted towards Bingo lovers, called ‘Bingo Bugle’. It once reported that out of every one person that goes to casinos there are another ten, who go to Bingo halls.

As social events, Bingo has become an attraction. Though it is called by different names such ‘Housie or Tambola’, the essence of the game remains the same. In Asia, one of the main attractions of all Ladies Kitty parties is the game ‘Housie’, which played with small cash or gift rewards.

Bingo is one of the few popular games that can be relished by all age groups. It has also enjoyed by children in their Birthday parties or club meetings.