History of Bingo

The history of Bingo in North America dates back to 1929, but the true origins of the game can be traced back as far as the 16th century.

Playing a form of Bingo was first recorded in Italy in the year 1530. The people enjoyed a Lottery style game known as “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia”. The game was extremely popular from the start, evident by its continued appearance in Italian society. “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia” is still played every Saturday to this day.

France was introduced to the game in the late 1770’s. In those days, it was the aristocrats of society who had all the fun, which explains why only members of French Nobility took part. This form of Bingo was known to the French simply as “Le Lotto”.

Eventually, in 1929, a historical event occurred. A New York toy manufacturer by the name of Edwin S. Lowe made a trip to Atlanta, Georgia where a great carnival was to take place. Edwin Lowe attended the affair and while browsing the multitude of fantastic booths, tents and fanciful amusements, came across a large tent where the raucous crowd inside was evidently having a fabulous time.

Upon entering the tent, Lowe made a monumental discovery. There was a game being played with numbered cardboard cards and dried beans. Each card had a 5×5 diagram, with each box containing a number. A caller stood at the front, drawing random numbers from a cigar box and calling them out. Each card that contained the number would have it covered by a dry bean, giving the game its name, “Beano”.

The game continued on into the wee hours of the morning for the simple fact that its players did not wish to stop. Finally, the man running the game of Beano told everyone to go home. With some disappointment, the crowd dispersed, and Edwin Lowe went on his way.

Overwhelmed by the pure fascination players experienced during the Beano game, Edwin returned to his home in New York and began devising his own Beano game. He created several randomly numbered cards, with numbers ranging from 1 through 75. He then invited a group of friends to his home to try it out.

The experiment went off without a hitch as all of Lowe’s friends had the same fantastic experience playing Beano; so much so that one of them jumped up from his seat and accidentally exclaimed, “Bingo!” That slip of the tongue was as historic as Lowe’s stumbling upon the game itself, resulting in the title of the game we all know today – Bingo.

In order to market the game, Lowe knew he would need more materials. He called upon the expertise of Carl Leffler, a math professor at the University of Columbia. Leffler was asked to develop 6,000 Bingo cards, each with a different, non-repeating number pattern. Leffler completed the task in 1930. It is widely believed, though not proven, that Carl Leffler went insane immediately thereafter.

Edwin Lowe marketed the game as “Lowe’s Bingo” and found instant success. Other companies wishing to market their own game paid Lowe $1 per year to use the name, “Bingo”.

One last piece to the puzzle of the history of Bingo remains. How did it become so popular as a religious charity event? As you probably know, Bingo is played at thousands of church halls in North America, especially on Friday nights. Here’s how it happened…

A pastor in Pennsylvania was forced to hold his congregations in a dilapidated building because there were no extra funds to restore the church. He had the brilliant idea to hold Bingo games for his members to raise funds for the restoration. Phenomenal success caused a whirlwind effect that has grown to massive proportions over the years.

And that, our dear readers, is the history of Bingo