The true origin of bingo dates back as far as the mid 16th century and is connected, strangely enough to the unification of Italy in 1530. This unification saw the introduction of a National lottery system, known as “Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia” held each week. Interestingly, this lottery is today a major source of income to the government, contributing over 75 million dollars each year to the budget.

It was the French who developed a passion for “Le Lotto”, as it became known and they adapted their own version of the game that strikes a strong resemblance with today’s version of bingo. Three horizontal and nine vertical rows formed the basis of the card and players would cover their numbers as they were drawn until an entire horizontal row was covered – hence the winner.

Lotto continued to flourish throughout Europe. It was used as an educational tool in Germany to teach children their multiplication tables and even formed the basis of many other games and toys still noticeable in toy stores today. But where and when did Lotto somehow morph into Bingo? Well, the answer lies in what could be described as a compromise – Beano!

Picture the scene. It’s 1929 and a weary and stressed toy salesman by the name of Edwin S. Lowe is driving to Jacksonville, Georgia to prepare for some appointments. Soon after starting his own toy company a year earlier, the market crashed and Mr. Lowe’s prospects were looking very bleak indeed.

Before arriving in Jacksonville, Lowe decided to cheer himself up by stopping off at a country carnival, being a night early for his appointments. Only one carnival booth was open and very crowded. The excitement seemed to be generated by a game that was a variation of Lotto, known as Beano. A horseshoe table was covered with numbered cards and beans. Every time a pitchman pulled a wooden disk from an old cigar box and called the number on it, the players reached for a bean and covered the corresponding number on their card, if they had it. When they had totally covered a line, either diagonally, vertically or horizontally, they had to shout Beano! They then received a doll.

Lowe wanted to play, but the game was too popular and no seats were available. What he did notice though was that all the players seemed to be addicted to the game. The pitchman was not able to close and had to eventually chase the players away at 3:00am. The pitchman had apparently picked the game of Lotto in Germany and decided to adapt and bring it to the United States and to rename it Beano. The success of the game on the carnival circuit proved to be highly lucrative.

Back in New York, Lowe invited some friends to his apartment and introduced them to the game. The tension seemed palpable. One time, a player became close to winning and was getting more and more excited. When her final number was called she jumped up in a fit of ecstasy and in all her excitement got herself tongue-tied. Instead of shouting Beano she spat out “Bingo!” Lowe would later describe the “sense of elation” he experienced when he heard her cry. He knew from that moment he was going to introduce this game to the public and name it “Bingo”.

What a success it proved to be for Lowe and his company! As the game came out of the public domain it was hard for it to be trademarked. Entreponeurs emerged from all sides and began their own versions. Lowe graciously asked them to pay just one dollar a year and call their games “Bingo” as well. To avoid litigation, this seemed a small price to pay and hence the massive spread and popular interest in bingo.

Lowe became aware of the fundraising possibilities of bingo after he was approached by a parishioner who wanted to use the game to raise funds. However, there seemed to be a problem when he discovered that each game tended to produce at least a half a dozen winners. Lowe knew that in order for bingo to succeed and a larger scale he needed to develop a greater number of combinations for his cards. So he approached a mathematics professor at Columbia University by the name of Carl Leffler. Lowe wanted 6,000 new cards with different combinations. The professor agreed. What he may not have conceptualized was how much harder each card became to develop than the card before. The fee per card rose to $100 and the task was finally completed, much to Lowe’s delight and at a cost to the professor of his sanity! (Or so many people have speculated).

After that, bingo really began to take off. People started to approach Lowe in droves, asking him to help them develop bingo games. Newsletters and even a book were published. The stakes and prizes got higher and pretty soon bingo took its place in popular American culture along with sports and other forms of gambling and general entertainment.

When we think of bingo, genius and brainpower don’t always spring to mind; these attributes have tended to be reserved for poker and other games of skill and luck. The image of a grandparent sitting in a community hall with a cup of tea and a card of bingo does not lend itself to the intrigue of psychology and mental agility. However, according to a study by the University of Southampton’s Psychology Department, bingo may not be the trivial pastime many would take it for. Researchers there insist that bingo keeps the mind sharp and equate this as especially important to people as they get older.

The tests conducted revealed that bingo players were more accurate and faster in tests that measured memory, mental speed and their ability to absorb information from the environment around them, than those who did not play the game.

What seems to be the key advantage to the sustained playing of bingo is the concept of time. There is no doubt that games such as chess, poker and backgammon all stretch the mind and keep the brain functioning. Whereas the hand-eye coordination needed for bingo may not be as exhaustive as for other games, the time constraint in which players must check their numbers is key to the sustenance of mental agility.

The tests comprised of 112 people within the age brackets of 18 to 40 and 60 to 82. Half of each set played bingo. The results concluded that all bingo players were more accurate and quicker than non-players. Interestingly, in certain tests, the older players did better than the younger players. More and more research is supporting the theory that a regular partaking of activities that exercise the mind is very beneficial to the maintenance of optimum mental functioning as we get older.

Younger bingo players tended to be faster, but the older ones were more accurate. Many people have suggested that the reason people dismiss bingo as a “junior” gaming pastime is because we so often associate it with pensioners. The social stigma of bingo has kept it out of the major casinos and therefore reduced its respect amongst the “hipper” echelons of today’s society.

Many would be led to conclude that the above study is simply out of proportion in the sense that a game of bingo is hardly a satisfactory workout for the mind in terms of endurance and mental skill. To an extent they would be right. But what the tests seem to be suggesting crucially, is that it is the prolonged or regular partaking in the game over a sustained period of time that will lead to cognitive benefits.

Then of course there are those who believe that any form of gambling being proclaimed to be beneficial to the mind is nothing short of an aberration. Whilst certainly milder in terms of the funds that change hands than other gambling games, bingo is still a game where one pays money to gain money and as such has been criticized from certain groups in society. However, the social aspect of the game cannot be overlooked and it is this type of play that would be encouraged to facilitate the mental benefits as concluded by the study described above.

In the UK, there are around three million bingo players. It is hoped that this study and the growing body of research around it will help to promote the game to those who otherwise would have written it off as something to be enjoyed with gardening, tea and everything else we assume people over the age of 65 suddenly develop a passion for.

A recent Associate Press has reported that a woman who won thousands of dollars playing land-based bingo was shot in the stomach when she refused to give the money to would-be robbers.

Pamela Anderson, 39, won $5,900 at bingo Sunday night near West Palm Beach before leaving with a friend for her home in Hobe Sound, about 30 miles north. A car with two men and two women trailed behind her. When Anderson arrived home early Monday, one man pointed a gun at her and told her to open her car door and give him the money.

When she refused, he shot her through the car. Anderson then tried to drive to the hospital but started to faint and crashed into construction barricades.

She was taken by helicopter to a West Palm Beach hospital and was listed in critical condition Monday. Her passenger was unhurt.

Although the suspects didn't get any of Anderson's money, she has still suffered a great deal from the ever-present danger of mugging and robbery. This danger haunts any gambler carrying large amounts of cash either to or from a land-based bingo hall or casino.

Online bingo is by far the safer bet – money is transferred electronically, and with today’s technology, the chance of credit card fraud is much, much lower. Tracking winnings is much easier in online bingo games, which have cashier pages that show balances in black and white. Best of all, it’s all done from the safety of the player’s home.

Although online bingo is a mere babe in the woods compared to land bingo, there are a number of bingo games online that have made very good names for themselves over the last three or four years. What Casino makes the following recommendations to all bingo players for a safe online bet. The recommendations are based on promptness of payouts, trustworthiness of staff, fairness of the game, and security of personal data.

What Casino Recommends:
Bingo Gala – www.bingogala.com.
Online since 1999, Bingo Gala pays out promptly and safely, and as one of the most established online bingo games, has been trusted by thousands of players.

Bingo Mega – www.bingomega.com
Another trusted name in online bingo, Bingo Mega has established itself as a favourite for players looking for a bingo game that keeps their peace of mind.

A recent Associate Press has reported that a woman who won thousands of dollars playing land-based bingo was shot in the stomach when she refused to give the money to would-be robbers.

Pamela Anderson, 39, won $5,900 at bingo Sunday night near West Palm Beach before leaving with a friend for her home in Hobe Sound, about 30 miles north. A car with two men and two women trailed behind her. When Anderson arrived home early Monday, one man pointed a gun at her and told her to open her car door and give him the money.

When she refused, he shot her through the car. Anderson then tried to drive to the hospital but started to faint and crashed into construction barricades.

She was taken by helicopter to a West Palm Beach hospital and was listed in critical condition Monday. Her passenger was unhurt.

Although the suspects didn't get any of Anderson's money, she has still suffered a great deal from the ever-present danger of mugging and robbery. This danger haunts any gambler carrying large amounts of cash either to or from a land-based bingo hall or casino.

Online bingo is by far the safer bet – money is transferred electronically, and with today’s technology, the chance of credit card fraud is much, much lower. Tracking winnings is much easier in online bingo games, which have cashier pages that show balances in black and white. Best of all, it’s all done from the safety of the player’s home.

Although online bingo is a mere babe in the woods compared to land bingo, there are a number of bingo games online that have made very good names for themselves over the last three or four years. What Casino makes the following recommendations to all bingo players for a safe online bet. The recommendations are based on promptness of payouts, trustworthiness of staff, fairness of the game, and security of personal data.

What Casino Recommends:
Bingo Gala – www.bingogala.com.
Online since 1999, Bingo Gala pays out promptly and safely, and as one of the most established online bingo games, has been trusted by thousands of players.

Bingo Mega – www.bingomega.com
Another trusted name in online bingo, Bingo Mega has established itself as a favourite for players looking for a bingo game that keeps their peace of mind.