Bingo is a game in which players win prizes by completing a required pattern on the bingo cards they hold. A caller draws and announces numbers for players to mark. It’s a game of chance that has been around for ages. As the game evolved, it gained popularity on the internet and invited players from around the world. Today, the best online bingo sites are just a few clicks away. This article will explore the development of bingo over time.
History of Bingo
When it started around 1530 in Italy, the game was not known as bingo. Instead, it is named lotto. Therefore, bingo originated in Italy and was once called Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia. From Italy, bingo immediately spread to France and was called Le Lotto. The aristocrats of France are the ones playing the game.
As time passed, in the 18th century, it is later believed that bingo migrated to Great Britain and other parts of Europe. Players are to mark off the numbers randomly called out by the caller until they form a winning combination.
In the 1920s, Hugh J. Ward created a standard form of the game in carnivals around Pittsburgh and areas of Western Pennsylvania. Mr. Ward then got a copyright and released a rule book in 1933.
The origin of the word bingo is unknown, but it can be in the middle of the 1920s when it started. There are claims that the game was popularized by a toy merchandiser named Edwin Lowe when he was at a traveling carnival in Atlanta, wherein he saw people playing a game called “Beano.” following the rule of Mr. Ward. The people are using dried beans, rubber stamps, and cardboard sheets. Lowe then brought the game to New York with his friend loving the game. One man was excited to shout Bingo instead of Beano when he formed a winning combination.
Versions of Bingo
The bingo game known worldwide has British and English versions. In the British version, people play the game with 90 balls, while in the English version, players enjoy the game with 75 bingo balls.
The UK and English versions of bingo differ from calling to the ticket the players are using. In the British or UK version of bingo, tickets have 27 spaces. The spaces come in 3 rows and nine columns. In the first column, you will find numbers 1 to 9 or 10. In the second column are numbers 10 to 19 or 11 to 20. In the third column are numbers 20 to 29 or 21 to 30. The pattern continues until it reaches the ninth column with numbers up to 90.
On the English version of bingo, the cards have 25 squares printed on disposable paper with five columns and five rows. Each square on the bingo card has its corresponding number except for the center square, which comes out as FREE.
Variations of Bingo
The fun that bingo brings to its players is evident with the different variations coming out as years passed, which include:
- U-Pick’Em bingo
- Shotgun Bingo
- Quick Shot bingo
- Facebook bingo
- Horse racing bingo
- Table bingo
- Electronic bingo
There are also other forms of bingo, which includes:
- Buzzword bingo
- Bovine bingo
- Online bingo
- Lingo
- Slingo
- Pinoy Bingo Night
- Bingo America
- National Bingo Night
There are also themed variations of bingo, and these include:
- drag queen bingo
- punk rock bingo
- beach blanket bingo
Bingo Business
In the United States, players play bingo in churches and charitable institutions. The legality differs in every state. There are states where organizations rent bingo halls and operate every day. On the other hand, bingo games organized by the church are weekly affairs inside the church premises.
On the other hand, commercial bingo is available in casinos, particularly in Nevada, and in bingo halls by the Native Americans catering to the local gamblers and not those in tourist resorts.
Electronic Bingo
Electronic bingo is a kind of bingo in the UK that allows players to play more than the standard six tickets rule. Because the numbers on the tickets are electronically marked when called, players can play more than they can handle in a paper bingo ticket, which increases their chances of winning.
Mechanized Cash Bingo
Mechanized cash bingo offers tickets in 4×4 size with different colors on each column. Most bingo clubs in the UK use plastic bingo cards for mechanized bingo. The plastic bingo cards have windows used to cover the numbers when called.
Online Bingo
Online Bingo is the kind of bingo (either the US or the UK variants) played on the World Wide Web. Its approximate launch was sometime in 1996. Online bingo uses a random number generator, unlike the balls in traditional or regular bingo halls.
It is fun playing bingo online, especially since online casinos nowadays offer different promos like the get free spins no deposit, and other promos that players will love.