A Brief History
Bingo may not seem like the most exciting activity, but it has been around for hundreds of years and still exists to this day. Although it is a bit more wacky now with live bingo games at sites such as umbingo, as well as musical bingo and drag queen bingo. Regular readers will know that we like to look into the history of most obscure things, in this article we are taking you back in time with bingo!
Digging Deeper – Where Did Bingo Get its Start?
So where did it all begin? There is no one answer out there that can really be classed as definitive, though there are a few theories. One is that it came from an Italian version of the lotto, which had numbers called and cards marked as it was played. There are definitely some similarities between modern day bingo and this early version of the game but it could go back even further.
The records are a bit patchy, understandable since the first reported version of this game was around in the 1500s. This Medieval game could be one of the origins of the game, although we do not know who actually invented this game. It is an interesting point to consider, as there have been a few studies that have attempted to find the origin of this game.
Bingo changed a lot over the centuries that followed, it was not long before it came to UK shores and really caught on. This started out as a really social experience, with players choosing to have a go with bingo for charity or even in their local church hall. This was a simpler time for bingo players, 90 ball bingo ruled and there were not really many rules governing the situation.
When bingo began to be played in halls, they were mostly created from old cinemas, as these had gone out of vogue, which is why many bingo halls are in older, palatial buildings that were once cinemas. This part of the culture in the UK is really interesting, as the availability of televisions killed the cinema industry somewhat.
US vs UK Bingo
Across the pond in the US, bingo was growing in a slightly different way. 90 ball bingo was the most popular in the UK but in the US, 75 ball bingo was king. These different versions grew simultaneously over the years and now both are common when playing online.
Security has also been ramped up a great deal over the years, with safe payment for bingo games becoming a feature on most bingo sites these days. Services that provide alternate payment methods, such as PayPal bingo deposits, can be a major factor for players when deciding if they want to play online.
With mobile bingo also becoming an increasingly popular option for players, convenience and speed are of the utmost importance to players. Bingo has certainly come a long way from that Italian lotto in the 1500s! Players are now spoiled for choice when it comes to gaming options, with all sorts of games and ways to play.
As users of the internet, we’re accustomed to having a lot of choices and online bingo is no different. There are simply hundreds of different sites to choose from and then loads of games within those sites. It is all about hunting for the biggest jackpots and promotions for most players, though discerning ones can take software and security into account too.
Into the Future
Bingo has been around for hundreds of years and it does not seem like it is going anywhere soon. It has went from a fun, charity game to the night out of choice and then online. In each form it has changed but players have remained loyal to the game, which means that no matter what the future brings, bingo is likely to stick around.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Do you like this game?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Hart, Susan. How To Play Bingo: The Rules of Bingo and Bingo Calls. Susan Hart, 2013.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Conrad Poirier (1912–1968) of a bingo winner in Montreal, Quebec in 1941, is in the public domain in Canada because its copyright has expired due to one of the following:
- 1. it was subject to Crown copyright and was first published more than 50 years ago, or
it was not subject to Crown copyright, and
- 2. it is a photograph that was created prior to January 1, 1949, or
- 3. the creator died more than 50 years ago.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it meets three requirements:
- it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days),
- it was first published before 1 March 1989 without copyright notice or before 1964 without copyright renewal or before the source country established copyright relations with the United States,
- it was in the public domain in its home country (Canada) on the URAA date ().