history of bingo
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History of Bingo – Evolution of the Game & Its Name 

The history of bingo takes us on an amazing trip worldwide and back through time. In truth, the game’s evolution is still not complete as it’s constantly evolving thanks to the internet. Today’s bingo cards look very different from the ones of yesteryear. They also vastly increase your jackpot winning chances. Read on to the end of today’s Jackpotfinder.com article to learn how many different bingo games you can play today. 

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What Is Bingo?

The shortest answer to this question is that bingo is a simple form of lottery. However, this is not just another game of chance. The history of bingo shows that the only way to learn how to win at bingo is to play. You will have fun, socialise, test your reflexes, and perhaps even get a prize. You will even have a chance to learn the stories behind the origins of bingo calls. Who knows, maybe you will get to use them in daily life like millions of other people.

History of Bingo: How Was Bingo Invented?

It is extremely difficult to say who invented bingo. But we know it’s a mixture of lottery, keno, and raffle games. Although all variations of those games have a common past, we will focus on bingo and how it evolved through time until it became available at verified and trusted bingo sites for UK players like the excellent Bet365 Casino where you can practice jackpot winning strategies for free.

Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia 

To answer the question of where did bingo originate from, we need to turn our attention to Italy in the year 1530 (during the Renaissance). Back then, the old name for bingo was Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia (which means The Clearance of The Lot of Italy), and the game had several variations. This is where the basic rules and elements of the game of chance appeared. All the aspects we know today like players picking numbers, the wheel used in the draw, and the prize announcement.

History of Bingo: France And Le Loto

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France has always played a large part in modern trends, and that is where the history of bingo continues. The French people quickly got used to the Italian game, and by the 1778s, Le Lotto was the aristocrat’s passion. This is where the French bingo origin took a turn and reshaped into the modern national lottery.

A Children’s Game In Germany

While it spread to the west, the game of bingo also spread to the north. In Germany, lotto, loto or bingo was a children’s game that gained popularity in the late 1770s. This is the point at the origin of bingo, where the scorecards had numbers, letters, images, or words. That is how a wagering game was transformed from an educational tool for children in many countries.

Bingo In The UK

The greatest evolution in the bingo game history happened in the United Kingdom and its colonies. Not long after its invention, the game arrived in the UK, and by the 18th century, it had a stable fanbase and devoted players. It was the only permitted gambling during World War I in the British armed services. Men and women in uniform could participate in the Royal Navy Tombola (1880), House (1900), or Housy Housy.

The history of bingo in the UK expands even more after WWI, and the Housey Housey wagering game spread among the population. Many shady gambling dens became a hotbed for illegal betting, so the government created the first modern gambling laws, as a means of stopping illegal gambling. This is also the time when many of the funny bingo calls were invented. This boosted people’s curiosity and helped the game spread faster than before.

History of Bingo: UK’s 90-Ball Bingo

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The UK’s Betting and Gaming Act legalised bingo games in 1968, which led to the creation of the 90-Ball National Bingo Game. In the following decades, everyone wanted to try fun community engaging entertainment. The interest and dedication brought improvements to the scorecards, drawing mechanisms and the invention of the bingo dauber.

The bingo halls where players could buy 90-ball bingo cards and play alongside their friends and strangers will always be a trend, but the busy modern life left less time for fun. That is when the electronic random number generator (RNG) helped with faster games and made it easy to play at the top online bingo slots sites.

No matter how times change, bingo is one of the most popular gambling games in the UK. The proof is the over £1 billion total prize money won by different players and delivered by the National Bingo Game. The largest bingo prize was won by a single player on the 23rd of March 2008. Soraya Lowell (Motherwell, North Lanarkshire) played bingo at The National Game at Club 3000 (Coatbridge) and collected £1,167,795.

Bingo In The US

The UK may have the bingo game with the largest number of balls, but the American bingo with 75 balls is just as entertaining. You already know where bingo originates from, but the USA is where it got its modern name. The original game in the Americas was the familiar mixture of keno and lottery. It became popular during the Prohibition Era and the Great Depression (the 1930s) under the name beano, screeno, or keno. People gathered in motion-picture theatres, carnivals, halls, and other rooms big enough to hold the many players and the game’s equipment.

During the 1920s, the announced numbers were marked with beans, which was why people called the game Beano. A player scored a win, and in his excitement, instead of ‘Beano!’ he yelled ‘Bingo!’. Edwin S. Lowe (a New York toy salesman) liked the idea to call the USA game ‘Bingo’ and started manufacturing scorecards with columns labelled B-I-N-G-O.

Since then, many players can confirm that happiness is yelling ‘Bingo!’ because it always brings a nice prize. Players in the USA love the 75-ball bingo so much that National Bingo Day is on the 27th of June. The new easy to pronounce name eased the spreading of the game worldwide.

Variety Of Bingo Games

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We spoke so much about bingo history and who invented bingo that it will be impossible not to mention the bingo versions anyone can try. You can find them at land-based bingo halls, churches, retirement homes, and online at 5-pound deposit bingo sites. This simple game creates powerful emotions, so we remind you to keep calm when playing bingo:

  • 90-Ball Bingo (aka traditional UK Bingo)
  • 80-Ball Bingo (aka Shutter Bingo, Coloured Rows, or Fast Gameplay)
  • 75-Ball Bingo (aka American Bingo)
  • 52-Ball Bingo (90-ball and 75-ball bingo mix)
  • 50-Ball Bingo
  • 40-Ball Bingo
  • 36-Ball Bingo
  • 30-Ball Bingo (aka Speed Bingo because it is the fastest game)

All those variations enter the history of bingo. But there are also many other bingo-based games and bingo variations popular at specific gaming locations or gambling sites. In our books, one of the best sites to play bingo is Bet365 Casino. Such splendid examples are Slingo, Bingo Bongo, Bingo Roulette, 5-Line Bingo (Swedish Bingo), jackpot bingo games, VIP bingo games, and more.

The bingo history shows that free bingo slots are one of the popular types of wagering games players always choose to diversify their gambling experience. Besides the type of game, bettors need to choose where to play. Online casinos grant easy access, but you can’t learn the history of bingo calls or hear the new bingo number nicknames.

Bingo Games At Online Casinos

The history of bingo has a major turn point registered in the history of online gambling. The first online bingo game was held in 1996 at the Bingo Zone site and is available to players in the USA. The same year Parlay Entertainment (Canada) released Cyber Bingo.

Since the early days of the Internet, the online history of bingo has expanded with lists of games and gambling websites offering them. A major milestone occurred in 2013, with the launch of the online bingo players’ network ’15 Network’. This allowed bingo versions to evolve and enter the mobile gaming market. From this point on, online bingo’s future became brighter than ever because the gambling industry constantly evolves. Players expect more fun, greater game diversity, and even better prizes. And nothing quite beats the excitement of when you win the jackpot online playing on your mobile at home. 

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