The
game of Bingo is one of the more popular gambling games in the world
and like many games Bingo has an interesting history. Bingo originated
from Italy, an early form of Bingo was played in 1530. The game
Beano was very much like today’s game of
Bingo. Cards with numbers were given out and chips with random numbers
written on them were drawn from a hat. When a number was called
a player would mark the board's square with a bean. After the card
was full of beans a player would yell BEANO.
The
game spread across Europe and became especially popular in France
and Germany. Beano was used by the Germans to teach children math.
Beano did not really reach the shores of North America until the
late 1920’s. Many towns used Beano as a form of entertainment
at local fairs and they found the game to be a great tool for fundraising.
A
toy salesman named Edwin S. Lowe stumbled across
people playing the game at an Atlanta fair and thought the game
could generate some American interest. The name of the game changed
from Beano to Bingo after Lowe heard a player mistakenly
yell Bingo instead of Beano. Lowe took his idea to a Columbia University
math professor named Carl Leffler. It took a year,
but Leffler is said to have invented 6,000 different kinds of Bingo
cards before the current 5 x 5 design was accepted.
A
Catholic priest heard of Bingo and thought it could be an excellent
way to raise money for the church. Bingo tournaments were being
held around the country, mostly in churches. Today the game is as
popular as ever. With the addition of online Bingo
many more people around the world are yelling BINGO!
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