From Regional Lottery to Online: A Guide to the History of Bingo

Bingo is a classic game with a long and interesting history. From its origins as an Italian regional lottery to its move online in the 21^st century, the game of Bingo has evolved drastically over time.

Thanks to the relative simplicity of its core gameplay and capacity to adapt, Bingo has proven itself to be an enduring classic. But how did it go from the town squares of Italy to online Bingo rooms? Let’s take a look at the game’s journey over the last few centuries.

Bingo’s roots

So, where did the game of Bingo first get its start? The answer lies in 16^th century Italy, where a game known as Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia was created sometime around the date of 1530.

This game doesn’t look entirely like Bingo as we know it today, but it definitely had a lot of the initial building blocks there. The lottery involved the drawing of numbers from a set pool which would form the basis of Bingo.

It wouldn’t be until much later that the concept of cards and matching multiple numbers would enter the equation.

Evolution in France

The popularity of the Italian lottery game saw it exported to a number of other European countries over the following centuries. But the move most important to our story is when Le Lotto arrived in 18^th century France.

This variety of the game proved a hit among the French aristocracy, prompting its expansion with new mechanics and twists on the standard lottery formula.

This is where the Bingo card got its start, with each player using tokens to cover numbers off their own cards as they were called out. You can see the closer resemblance to our game of Bingo starting here.

Crossing the Atlantic

Once the game crossed over to the US, it really began to take shape. A variety was introduced to Americans during the early 20^th century, played in travelling carnivals and fairs.

But this still wasn’t Bingo exactly, going by the name of Beano instead. This was a reference to the beans that were generally used to mark off numbers on player’s cards.

The switch to Bingo came about thanks to the publication of a commercial game set, designed for play in living rooms rather than outside at the fair. Edwin S Lowe – a New York toy salesman – is credited for coming up with the change, which would be exported as the name for other variants of the game.

The rise of modern Bingo

Following its rebranding, Bingo really began to take off across the US. Throughout the 20^th century, dedicated venues started to crop up – in the UK as well – as more players were introduced to the game.

But that was nothing compared to the rise in popularity Bingo would see once it moved online.

The rise of the internet and online play prompted platforms to introduce their own digital Bingo games, with players able to access them from any device with a good internet connection. This also had the effect of allowing players to try out different formats of the game, giving Americans the chance to play the 90-ball Bingo more popular in the UK and letting international players try out the 75-ball format.

Over the centuries, Bingo has changed a lot, even just in its name! Who knows where future technological developments could see this classic game go next?

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