If not the oldest game, it is at least one of the oldest. Bingo was born more than half of a millennium ago. It was 1530 when the first national lottery was introduced in Europe. The game wasn’t that different than today’s version. A bowl was full of numbers, bingo cards, and people who had to cover all the numbers drawn on the cards. The first major difference between the ancestor and the modern version is the name.
Indeed, this name has been adopted by the entire world only 400 years after. It was a man named Edwin Lowe who has pronounced the word Bingo by mistake. It was 1930, in America, bingo games have become so famous that everyone, from all ages, was used to play Beano. The origin of that name is explained by an old usage among people who used to cover the numbers on the cards using dry beans. Edwin made a shout and instead of saying beans, he said “Bingo”. Since then, everyone has started to call it like that.
Gone are the days where you need to stand in a queue to buy a lottery ticket and run to a lottery agent to confirm and collect your winnings. You can check this best lottery sites if you want.
Bingos in the world
The European version
As you can imagine, each country has its games variants. Especially when the games have been invented, a very long time ago, it is quite common that they undergo variations, and Bingo has “suffered” from them too. In Italy, there is also a game called “tombola” which probably is the ancestor of the modern version.
It is still a very popular game, and consist in extracting plastic balls covered by numbers from a bowl (or a Jute bag), 90 in total. People must cover 5 numbers in a row, as the first target, 15 as second, to hit the win. The first who covers all the numbers wins the final price.
For what concerns the Bingo, it works exactly in the same way. 90 balls covered by numbers. They are extracted by the machine which has been first checked and guaranteed by special organs. Using a particular system to move the plastic balls on which all the 90 numbers have been printed, the machine picks up a single ball at a time.
The cards have 15 numbers, three rows of 5. There are two targets available, five numbers in a row, horizontally and the Bingo. The first who manages to cover all the numbers on his card wins.
American version
In America, it is even more popular than in Europe. This game is considered more than a simple game. It is a moment of aggregation, a chance for meeting people, and also when it comes to the national lottery, a very life-changing game. In the American variant, there are 75 numbers. Differently than in Europe, cards are made of 5 vertical rows and 5 horizontal rows for a total of 15 numbers.
Numbers are subdivided into 5 groups, which correspond to the letters which compound the name BINGO. To hit the win, there is a single target, which consists of covering 5 numbers. Whether vertically, horizontally or in a diagonal doesn’t matter. The first who covers those 5 numbers win.
Conclusion
Whatever version of the game you are familiar with, it doesn’t change the fact that this game is very catching. Since it has been introduced into online casinos, people started playing it even more than before.
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