History of Bingo

Bingo is one of the most popular games in the world and its origins go back all the way to the 16th century. The first game of bingo was played in Italy around 1530 and was called  ”Il Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia”. The game grew in popularity and by the late 1700s all of the modern rules of the game had been introduced such as playing cards, tokens and the unique layout of three rows and nine columns. The game was also used in Germany in the nineteenth century for educational purposes, such as teaching children their multiplication tables and spelling.

The game continued to gain popularity into the 20th century where it was standardized by American Hugh J Ward at carnivals in the early 1920s. Ward would copyright the name ‘bingo’ and in 1933 wrote the rule book for the game. The game was also growing in popularity in other parts of the US around this time, such as New York. It would continue to grow in popularity and be a favorite for many years to come. Nowadays bingo is more popular than it’s ever been around the world. It’s primarily most popular with females although there are many men who enjoy playing the game online and at casino halls.

 

Types of Bingo

There are quite a few varieties of bingo but here I’ll focus on three of the most popular -

• 75 Ball Bingo – This type of bingo is most popular in the United States and is considered to be the standard game in that part of the world. The rules work the same as with any other type of bingo i.e. you try to match the numbers on your playing card to the numbers that are called. 75 ball bingo is played on a 5×5 playing card which has 75 as the highest number.
• 90 Ball Bingo – This type of bingo is most popular in the United Kingdom where it’s the main type of bingo played. It is played on a bingo card that has 3 rows and 9 columns. It’s possible to win multiple prizes from a single playing card, which is what makes this type of bingo so popular.
• Online Bingo – Online bingo isn’t a specific type of game in itself but it does differ from casino played in a regular casino hall enough to warrant an explanation of it. When you play online bingo you’ll usually have the choice of what type of game you want to play. When playing online you usually have the choice to have the computer automatically cross off the numbers that you have matched. There are advantages and disadvantages to online bingo. Whilst it’s very convenient and can still be exciting, it obviously cannot replicate the atmosphere of a real bingo hall.

 

How to Play Bingo

Whilst there are several varieties of bingo, the basic rule is same for them all – to mark off all the numbers that are called on your playing card until have all the numbers needed for you to win the game. The amount or pattern of numbers you need to match on your playing card to win a game of bingo will depend on the type of game you’re playing. With the types of 90 ball bingo that are played in the UK, you must match one line of numbers on your playing card to win. Sometimes you must match 2 lines but in this case the prize is usually much higher.

The caller plays a very important role in bingo. They will select the numbers from the bowl and will call them out. In casino halls the caller will be a person who calls the numbers aloud whilst most online casinos will place the number on the screen as well as an electronic voice calling them out. There is often lingo used when it’s a real world bingo caller, such as ‘clickety click’ meaning 66. The caller will always use the lingo and the actual number when they’re calling to make things absolutely clear. There is no real skill to playing bingo, it is merely a game of luck that as long as you concentrate when the numbers are being called, you have as good a chance of anyone to win at.