Bingo History

Considering the tremendous popularity of Bingo, it is not surprising to find out what an interesting past the recreational activity actually has. With a very historical past, the highly enjoyable recreational pastime has seen all manner of interesting ups and downs in its history.

Italy 1530:

The game of Bingo originated in Italy in the year 1530. The game was significantly different from what is commonly referred to as Bingo in the modern day. More of a lottery than the game that we know in the modern day, it was extremely popular and very quickly became a common pastime for Italians who were more than happy to participate in the highly entertaining form of recreational activity. With so much attention being paid to the popular pastime, it is interesting to see how it came to be handed down through generations after generations. Today, Saturday is still reserved for the playing of Bingo for many Italians who are still enamored of the popular game to this day.

France 1778:

Bingo made it to the country of France in 1778, but was largely played only by the wealthy. Commoners generally did not play Bingo, as it was reserved for the entertainment of the wealthy. Despite this, Bingo became increasingly popular in all walks of life very quickly.

Germany 1880:

In Germany, the introduction of Bingo was mainly used as an educational tool. Schoolteachers utilized the popular game in order to teach all manner of educational subjects such as math, history and spelling. This focus brought even more popularity to the game of Bingo, creating a tremendous amount of notoriety among the population in general.

North America 1929:

When the game of Bingo first game to the Americas, it was not referred to as Bingo at all. Since the beans were used as place markers on the cards, it was referred to as Beano. When the player won five in a row, they would yell out the phrase Beano. Eventually, a salesman named Edwin S. Lowe began marketing and publicizing the name Bingo, changing the name for ever.

North America in 1930:

Working on his publicity campaign, Lowe hired a math professor from Columbia University named Carl Leffler in order to work on creating a new Bingo card. The combination on these cards would add up to 6000. Legend has it that this project sent the math professor over the edge and into insanity.

North America 1934:

Once churches began to utilize the game of Bingo in order to raise funds for their charities, the game took off tremendously in popularity all over the country. This type of activity is largely credited with increasing the popularity of the game that we know today.

United Kingdom 1968:

The gaming act is amended to include Bingo, indicating how extremely popular the recreational activity has begun to grow inside the United Kingdom itself.

United Kingdom 1986:

Officials in the United Kingdom begin a national game of Bingo, caving in to the extremely popular game and its ability to generate funds.

Worldwide 2007:

Over 3 million people enjoy playing in Bingo halls around the world, with increasing numbers of players joining in every day. The popularity of the game has increased tremendously, allowing churches to raise money, schools to teach students and even families to pass the time amongst themselves.

Today:

Today many millions of people play in almost every country in the world. With the advent of online bingo creating unpresedent access to online bingo anytime anywhere.