The Origins Of Bingo
Bingo may seem to be the modest, unassuming member of the gaming family but it’s not. Far from it. In fact, its lineage can be traced back to an Italian lottery game played during the Renaissance, a period of immense cultural change and achievement in Europe, called “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia,” – a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it? – that is still played today, every Saturday in Italy. Now, how’s that for ancestry?
From Italy, the game found its way across the border into France in the late 1770’s where the French (mercifully) shortened its name to “Le Lotto.” The game was very popular amongst the French aristocracy, under its guidance it matured with playing cards, tokens and the reading out of numbers added to the game.
In the early 1920’s, the game sailed across the Atlantic, landing in North America where it became known as “beano.” It was named so because little dried red beans were used at the time to cover the numbers.
Bingo’s early history began when Hugh J. Ward introduced the game at carnivals in and around the Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania areas. However, the game really gained ground when Edwin S. Lowe, a travelling toy salesman from New York, brought the game back to the Big Apple after first seeing it played at a carnival near Atlanta, Georgia. He introduced the game to his friends and it was a big hit.
Lowe is credited with changing the name to “bingo.” The story goes: he overheard a player yell out “bingo” instead of “beano” in his excitement at having won. The story continues: Lowe went on to seek the assistance of a Columbia University math professor Carl Leffler to increase the complexity of the game by adding more combinations. By the early 1930’s, over 6,000 different bingo cards were invented.
The game even caught the attention of the Church – its potential as a fundraiser being the main attraction. Quickly, churches began offering bingo games and from that point on – divine intervention, you could say – it simply took off incredibly. By the mid 30’s, an estimated 10,000 bingo games were played weekly. Today, upwards of $90 million dollars is spent weekly on bingo in North America.
