The origins of Bingo - a history

The origins of bingo, as with most games, is shrouded in the mists of history. However, we can trace the idea back to the 1500's where the Italians invented a lotto game to be played 'en masse' rather like Bingo is today. "Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia" was the 1st state run lotto that proved to be so popular it is still played today.

Perhaps closer to the game we know today however is the French game of "Le Lotto" that was derived from the Italian counterpart. This game was extremely popular with French noblemen during the 18th century. This game involved a caller drawing out wooden discs number from one to ninety from a bag and calling them out the the players. Each player had a game board divided into nine rows and 3 columns of choices and the winner ought to be the person to mark off all the choices in one row. Today, more of the same can be discovered on the children's games marketplace including such things as spelling bingo with, of course, all of the gambling elements removed.

However, the number 1 example of bingo in its modern form appeared during the late 1920's when a New York toy salesman stumbled above an addictive fairground game and had a brainwave. Edwin S. Lowe came across the game of "Beano" at a carnival in Georgia. The players at this game had wooden cards full of choices and a set of dried beans. Most time the caller drew out a number they might cover it up with a bean, the winner seeming to be the one to mark off all the nos in a straight line either diagonally, horizontally or vertically. So popular was this game than Lowe never actually got a chance to play but the idea of marketing this to the mass marketplace was formed right there and then.

Hurrying back to New York he quickly created his own replica of the carnival game and invited friends over to play at a specially organised party. The name stuck and when Lowe produced the numero uno commercial version of the game retailing for just $1 that's the name it was marketed with. He set up large-scale bingo game events with hundreds of players instead of the handful the original game had been designed for and the idea really took off. Once finished however the game of bingo really took off in it's modern form to the point where in 1934, just a few years after bingo leading hit the mass marketplace, there was over 10,000 games having played per week across America. Now of course, bingo is a multi-million Lincolns industry across the world and can be played Internet 24 hours a day if it takes ones fancy. .