The History of Bingo

The game of bingo can be traced all the way back to the Italian national lottery of 1530. Named the Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia, the game spread to France in the late 1770s where it was called Le Lotto, and it also spread to Germany around the same time.

The game reached North America in 1929 and became known as ‘Beano’. At this point, it was a country fair game in which the dealer would select numbered discs from a cigar box and players would mark their cards with beans. When they had a winning card, they would yell ‘Beano’.

It was renamed ‘Bingo’ by Edwin S. Lowe after he overheard a player shout ‘Bingo’ accidentally rather than ‘Beano’. He then hired a Columbia mathematics professor, by the name of Carl Leffler, to help him increase the number of combinations on the bingo cards.

By 1930, there were around 6,000 different bingo card combinations invented by the mathematician, and it is actually rumoured that he later went insane.Around the mid 1930s, a catholic priest approached Lowe and asked if he could use the game to raise church funds.

It is through these church games that bingo’s popularity really increased, which is probably why it became so popular amongst the elderly. By 1934, more than 10,000 bingo games were played each week, and from there, the phenomenon spread.

Today, the game of bingo has moved out of halls and fairs into the digital world. There are now many online bingo sites that offer a huge variety of games. In addition, the online version of the game has brought out bingo’s social aspect as you can meet and chat with people from all over the world while the software marks your cards for you.

Also, Internet bingo has made very cheap games readily available, letting more and more people become involved. And, because the game can be played without leaving home, even those who live in remote communities can enjoy the fun of bingo.