A History Of Bingo
16th century Italy provides the unlikely setting for the birthplace of the game of bingo. A state run lottery called "Lo Gioco del Lotto d'Italia" has been played there since as far back as 1530. Fascinatingly, this Italian bingo continues to be played to this day, with players competing against each other every Saturday night.
The late 18th century saw the game of bingo begin to be played in nearby France, where it became popular amongst the French elite. The French added playing cards and tokens, and the reading out of numbers saw it evolve into something more akin to the game we all know and love today.
It was also around this time that the game began to be played in England, and indeed the first recorded use of the term “bingo” (referring to a lottery) was in England in 1776.
Germany was the next country to be swept up in the bingo craze and in the early 1800’s the game was being played by German children for educational purposes. They were taught spelling, animal names and multiplication tables through the game of bingo.
The game began to go truly global when it reached the shores of America some time in the early 20th century. The game, however, was commonly known as “beano’ and the playing cards and tokens of 18th century France had been replaced by dried beans, a rubber stamp, and cardboard sheets.
A New York toy salesman, Edwin S. Lowe, saw the game being played at a carnival and having fallen under the bingo spell he took it home with him and introduced it to his friends. The name was changed from “beano” to “bingo” after an over excited winner yelled out “bingo” by mistake!
Modern UK bingo owes much to a combination of developments that took place in the 1950’s and 60’s. A relaxation of legislation that existed since WW1, the introduction of new legislation and the widespread popularity of Television, along with a number of other factors, resulted in a proliferation of bingo halls.
The advent of the internet over the last 20 years has seen the game of bingo expand electronically and now millions of people from all age groups and all backgrounds play bingo in one shape or form every day.
