

The game of Bingo is no spring chicken to the world, having been played by people for over five hundred years. What started as a game in the heart of Italy over half a century ago has changed somewhat over the years, spreading across Europe and gaining more loyal fans in the process. But back in its humble infancy, Bingo was a lottery type game, known to local players as “Lo Giuoco Code Lotto”.
After 200 years, the game had upgraded considerably, spreading to France and also being commonly played with Bingo cards and tokens, not wildly dissimilar to some forms of current day Bingo. Germany soon followed in the footsteps of the French, and it was here that Bingo was popularized as an educational tool. German schoolchildren would often play math, spelling and science related bingo games to help them learn the core subjects and concepts of the curriculum.
The game spread further across Europe, before making it’s way to America in the late 1920’s. Thanks to a carnival worker in Atlanta, Georgia, many children and adults began to discover the joy of Bingo. Although Bingo was initially known as “Beano” in America, the concept was roughly similar, and was based around a game involving sheets of cardboard, small rubber stamps and beans for tokens. A traveling man named Edwin Lowe witnessed the fascination and growing popularity of this game, and bought the idea back with him to New York, where he and his friends began to play in social situations. During one game, an overexcited friend was alledged to have shouted “Bingo!” instead of “Beano”. The name stuck, and the game of Bingo was officially born.
Edwin Lowe recognized the potential of this overnight sensation in his hometown, and began making Bingo sets to sell and give to his friends and family. Bingo has always been associated with good, cheap fun, and Lowe was no exception to this rule. The first sold bingo sets contained twelve card sets at one dollar, and twenty-four card sets for just two dollars. As the game took hold of America, slowly, more and more Americans were playing Lowe’s games at social gatherings and at home. By the 1940’s, word had rapidly spread about the game of Bingo. And the orchestrator of the phenomenon still continued to only request two things: one, that a small fee was paid per year, and secondly, that all players would call their wins with the word “Bingo”, the name which had been accidentally designated many years before.
Lowe began the business model of Bingo back in the 1920’s, and since then, the game of Bingo has grown to be a treasured pastime, played by over sixty million people across the world. To keep up with burgeoning demand, Bingo halls were built to house the growing army of fans of the game of Bingo. With many Bingo halls functioning as cornerstones of their communities, and thanks to technology, many Bingo fans can enjoy a fantastic night out with fun guaranteed.
Thanks to the internet, technology has enabled a whole new form of Bingo to be released, with Online bingo sites helping to create a whole new, and significantly larger, generation of Bingo fans. Although Bingo halls still have many fans, online Bingo has ballooned in the space of just a few years, with players of all ages from many different countries tempted by the huge jackpots and great offers available at online bingo sites. And as the number of players online grows, so do the jackpots to accommodate the ever-growing demand for some online Bingo fun. Many sites have also managed to capture some of the community feel of a local Bingo hall thanks to chat rooms, allowing players to make many new friends whilst they play.
Whether you played Bingo during your childhood, or never played, whether you are old or young, you may well find online Bingo could be your new favourite pastime. With many sites offering free play bonuses, and great deposit offers that give you back money whenever you pay some in, there has never been a better time to begin your online Bingo adventure. But due to the sheer volume of bingo sites, it is important to remember to choose your bingo site carefully. Make sure you read the small print behind offers to ensure you are not being cheated out of money, and look for sites that are trusted by their loyal communities. Find a good site, and you can be guaranteed plenty of thrills, spills, friends, and maybe even a big win! Make sure you pick wisely with your online bingo site and you could find yourself joining another important phase in the history of the game of Bingo!