Why is it that when someone mentions or repeats the word bingo, an image of a group of senior citizens springs to our minds? Possibly because the Gala’s attract more people over the age of 65 years and give them the opportunity to socialise outside of their homes. Furthermore, they cater for large groups of people to play together and provide refreshments making it feel like an enjoyable night out.
However, bingo was once a game played by many people of all ages back in the days of when it was relatively unheard and before it became a global activity. The game is quite different from what it was once played as and was something that not everyone was involved with. Its origins are found in Italy of 1530, whereby it was not called bingo but it was called Lo Giuco Del Lotto d’Italia, which has continued to be played on Saturdays in Italy.
As the Catholic Church was a major influence on the country, they were against any form of gambling. However, this did not stop the game from becoming widespread. The game very quickly spread out to France around 1778, whereby the rules for gambling were considerably lapsed in comparison to Italy, even though the French Church was against the game. The game was successfully received by the French citizens who helped boost the popularity of subsequent games similar to this one.
The bingo game at this point was later played over a table divided into nine vertical columns and three horizontal lines. The format is similar to the modern day 90-ball game. Each line had five numbered square and four blank squares laid out randomly. The first line was numbered 1 - 10, followed by numbers 11 - 20 on the second and this followed through each line until reaching the number 90. These had a unique configuration and were played in a similar fashion to the modern day game.
The game thrived for more than a century, before it spread across the Atlantic into the U.S by the 1920s, where it very quickly adopted its own American style. At the time the game was called beano, because players would mark their cards with beans rather than a pen when their numbers were called. This was the beginning of a new system of playing, whereby wood chips were used before. The new system consisted of drawing out the cards from a matchbox at random, calling out the numbers and placing the bean on your card.
Although the game was less pronounced, it would not be until 1929 when a man named Edwin Lowe popularised the game having randomly discovered it upon his travels. He took on board the game and shared the experience with friends and family. However, instead of shouting out beano, the word bingo came out to which the name stuck with the game. Lowe believed that the name bingo was catchier and suited the game well.
Soon Lowe had popularised the game by advertising the game and using the help of a Mathematician, Carl Leffler, he was able to randomise the numbers 900 times (causing the unfortunate demise of Lefflers mental health upon completing this task). Leffler had produced 6,000 different bingo cards, which boost its expanding popularity in as much as attracting Catholic Church officials for using the game to raise Church funds.
Subsequent years after these events saw the game grow from humble beginnings and lesser known pronouncement to a global multi-million pound industry.
Anna Stenning is knowledgeable in the world of bingo having played this in the past and researched how it became a popular gaming industry.
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