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| Bingo History |
Ever wondered where the Gambling Bingo Game stemmed from? Well, the history of Bingo can be traced back to the year 1530. The game has its inceptions in a state run lottery game Lo Giuco de Lotto in Italy, where it is still conducted every Saturday. According to certain sources, the game is said to have originated in Spain in the same year. "Le Lotto" came to France in the late 1700s in a form identical to the Bingo as we know today – with a playing card, tokens and numbers read aloud.
19th Century
Throughout the 19th century, the lottery games spread rapidly across the Continent, with many offshoots of the game being created. One of popular variations of game, similar to that is played today, had a player's card divided into 3 horizontal rows and 9 vertical ones. The first vertical row contained numbers from 1 to 10, the second from 11 to 20 until 81-90 appeared on the ninth vertical row. The 3 horizontal rows each had 5 squares with numbers in them and 4 blank ones. The caller would pull out from a bag of wooden chips numbered 1 to 90. The objective was to be the first to cover one of the 3 horizontal rows completely. The blank squares were considered free, like the free square in the Bingo cards today.
20th Century
In 1929, near Atlanta, Georgia, a game called "Beano" was played at a carnival. The tools were of dried beans, a numbered rubber stamp and cardboard. If they filled a line of numbers on their card, the players exclaimed "BEANO!". Edwin Lowe, a New York toy salesman observed this and introduced the game to his friends back home where one of them mistakenly yelled "BINGO!" "Lowe's Bingo" was soon popular and Lowe asked the players to pay him $1 a year to allow them to call their games Bingo as well.
Bingo was at the height of its popularity during the Great Depression (1930s), when a variant (screeno) was played in motion-picture theaters. One night of the week was designated the bank night, when patrons received free bingo cards with admission tickets; prizes amounted to hundreds of dollars in merchandise or cash.
By the 1940's, Bingo games had sprung up all over the USA with numerous games played every week. Today Bingo games can be found everywhere and online too.
Bingo in Other Countries
Bingo is played with much enthusiasm in Japan and has been introduced at the casino in Monte-Carlo. In Great Britain, the game received greatest impetus with passage of the Betting and Gaming Act 1960 which permitted the establishment of a large number of commercial lotto clubs. Within a short while, the game achieved immense popularity, in fact surpassing that which it formerly enjoyed in the United States. Online Bingo in the US is already hugely popular, and with hitting the shores of the UK, the game promises more fun. |
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