Bingo has an incredibly long history. Its rise can be traced back centuries to a similar system of play was being used. It is essentially an offshoot of the Italian game of Lo Giuoco Code Loto which was popular in the 1530s that evolved through 18th century France where such familiar traits as reading out random numbers and players having cards emerged. The Germans even used the games as a method of teaching children a variety of subjects; arithmetic and memory skills for example.

It was in the US that the familiar form of Bingo took shape however. A carnival visitor named Edwin Lowe watched the similar game of Beano being played in 1929 Atlanta and was struck by the level of engagement and involvement of players who only gave up the game after being told to leave at three o’clock in the morning. Lowe showed the game as he remembered it to friends in New York wherein beans, numbering stamps and playing boards were used. The name of his new game is said to have originated when an over-excited friend yelled ‘Bingo!’ when he one a game as he hadn’t bothered to ask that it was in fact called Beano.

In the UK, Bingo (also called Housie in Australia and New Zealand) was played similarly but with slightly different structure and before long the game was an almost international phenomenon. The game of Bingo has progressed with the march of technology as well. Rather than different methods of calling (such as marked balls in a spinning wheel) computerized versions of random number generation have been put into place further reinforcing legitimization and lessening any chances of foul play. UK Online Bingo has also become popular in recent years either for fun or betting, the format of the game lending itself easily to the internet and remote play.