Bingo has a long, interesting history. Although it is extremely popular in the United States, it actually has roots in Europe.

The game dates back to an Italian game called Lo Gioco del Lotto D'Italia, which was first played in 1530. In Italy, the game is traditionally played on Saturdays. The game was popular in Italy and it spread to France in the 1700s where it was called Le Lotto. The French are credited with the introduction of Bingo cards. The game was converted in Germany to help students learn spelling, history and math. In the 1800s the game spread throughout Europe. The caller would draw wooden chips numbered from one to 90 from a bag. Like today players won by covering a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row with chips.

In 1929 Bingo was introduced in America. At the time it was called beano. This version of the game was played at fairs. The dealer would draw numbered discs from a cigar box. Players marked their cards with beans and yelled “beano!” when they won.

When toy salesman Edwin S. Lowe heard a player scream “bingo” instead of “beano” he hired a math professor to help him increase the number of cards so that the game could be more widely played. Lowe brought the game back to New York, introduced it to his wealthy friends, and the game caught on. He also produced the first commercialized version of the game. He charged $1 for a 12 card set.

Bingo spread and become a popular game. A priest from Pennsylvania eventually approached Lowe about using Bingo as a fundraiser for churches. Bingo as a game for fundraising and as a game for pleasure has spread all over the country and world.

Today bingo is most often played in church halls and for fundraising. Germany’s tradition of using the game as a learning method has also become popular in schools across the country.

The most recent innovation in the game is online bingo. With the invention of gaming online, bingo was updated as well. This has increased the game’s popularity because players can play as much as they want whenever they want.