History of Bingo

Ever wonder where the wonderful game of Bingo came from?

Well let LuckyDust explain..........

Bingo can be traced back as far as the 16^th Century to the wonderful land of Italy.

'Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia' was the first state run lottery which proved to be a major success not only with players but also for the government who enjoyed the revenue generated from it.

The spread of Bingo to other countries began over 200 hundred years later as 'Le Lotte' began to be played in France in the late 1770's.  The spread continued to Germany in the late 1800's where the Garman's began to use the game as a tool to help teach students maths, spelling and history.

It didn't become widely known in the English speaking world until the late 1920's.  It made its way to America after an American carnival pitchman who was travelling Germany took the game back to his home land.  The game in America was originally a carnival attraction as well as being played as a means to raise money for charities - a practise which continues through out America today.

Beano was the name Americans used for the game as they used dried beans to cover the numbers. Back in America the travelling sales man had his friends play the game and in the excitement of the game one of his friends accidentally shouted 'Bingo' and well the name stuck!

In the UK it was not widely know until 1960 when the gambling act was passed by parliament which permitted such games to be played in member only clubs.  In 1968 another gaming act was passed in the UK allowing clubs to play prize and cash bingo.  The game proved to be so successful that in the late 1980's Bingo halls were being set up and they still remain around the country today.

2003 saw the first online bingo site emerge in the UK.  Online bingo has proved to be just as popular and now more than 3 million people play bingo on and offline

In recent years bingo has undergone a major revival and looks set to expand and grow as online games help to revive the loved pastime and Bingo becomes all the more popular.

The game is still played every Saturday in Italy, where it was born, and is now one of the planets favourite games.