Bingo is a game with which most people are familiar. From preschool children to the elderly population, it is a game that is universally popular. In its current rendition, Bingo is purely a game of chance. Players are each dealt a card or cards with numbers. As the game progresses, a person known as “the caller” announces numbers drawn at random. Each player then crosses off their corresponding numbers. The first person to cross off the chosen numbers in a chosen pattern on their card yells, “BINGO!” to signify their winning the game. This, however, is not how the game originally started. Bingo has quite a rich history, and here is its story.
In the early 1500s, the people of Italy began to play a game called “Lo Gioco del Lotto d'Italia” – which literally means “The lottery of Italy.” Each Saturday, hundreds of Italians would come together in public meeting places for food, fellowship, and games. The most popular game was the betting game that today’s Bingo was derived from. Players placed bets on the chances of certain numbers being drawn, and the player who bet on the numbers called won the money. As time wore on, the popularity of this game increased and was modified across the globe.
By the 1700s, a version of Lo Gioco del Lotto d'Italia had been created in France. In addition to betting on numbers, the French added paper cards on which to keep track of the called numbers. By the 1800s, the game had become a craze in the European countries.
Bingo came to America in the early 1900s. Originally known as “Beano,” the game started out as an entertainment booth at a county fair in Atlanta, Georgia. An unemployed toy salesman named Edward Lowe was the first to revolutionize this game in the United States. During this game, players used dry beans to mark the called numbers on their cards rather than crossing them out with ink, giving it the fond name, “Beano.”
So how did “Beano” become “Bingo?” It is said that during one game, a woman became so excited by the prospect of winning that she yelled, “Bingo!” instead of the word “Beano!” and it caught on from there.
From Georgia, the game’s popularity gained its rank up both coasts and straight through the heart of America. Churches, non-profit organizations, schools, fairs, and many other groups began to use Bingo as a fundraiser as well as a social event opportunity. Today, thousands of people play Bingo every day across the nation.
It is hard to imagine that a game like Bingo would have such an involved and interesting history. It is a connection to people of years past like no other. Every time someone sits down to play the game, they are engaging in an activity that has been a favorite pastime for centuries. From its humble beginnings in Italy and its spike in European popularity, to its start in America, Bingo is undeniably one of the most widely-known and well-loved games of all time.
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