From Beano to Bingo

The genesis of this game can be traced back to the 15th century in Italy when a lottery by the name “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia” was introduced. In the beginning, the game was known as lotto was played in small fairs, which were the common place in the countryside. The players were required to draw numbers from a cigar box and cover it with beans. This gave the game the name “Beano”. Bingo game has introduced in France in late seventeenth century. The game has introduced in Germany in the eighteenth century as an educational game in which children learnt math, spelling and history by means of a series of puzzles.

The game gained respectability when a cleric in Pennsylvania used this game to raise funds for the church. The game kept gaining popularity and today more than 90 million dollars had spent on this game. It was Edwin Lowe and Carl Leffer who is credited with developing the game as we see it today. Both set the rules for bingo game developed more than 6000 combinations, which were in the form of bingo cards.

Present State of the Game

The game has become immensely popular, clubs and halls have opened in almost every part of the US. Bingo games are played with cardboard sheet with their numbers concealed with some kind of marker. In modern times, touch screens are there where the player can mark their number by touching a TV screen. Online games are becoming more and more and more popular. Online bingo can be played in the privacy of ones home. Players can play free games for fun or can bet money also. Players are able to interact with other players, and discuss about tactics on how to best play the game.

The online version of Bingo games was started on a modest way in the United Kingdom in 1986. It became very popular in a very short time. With the internet explosion in the early 21st century it found greater acceptance and by 2005 more than 3 million people were playing the online version of the game.