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The History of Bingo
Bingo was originally called, 'Beano' which was played at county fairs with a caller drawing discs from a cigar box and players marking their cards with beans to cover the numbers called. If they were to win, they would yell 'beano'.
The history of bingo dates back as far as 1530 in Italy. The game then moved into France in the late 1770’s but was primarily played by the wealthy. The game then made its mark in Germany amongst children for education purposes. The game of Bingo moved to US in 1929 as 'Beano' The name, ' bingo ' was developed through a mistake. A bingo player at a county fair yelled ' bingo ' instead of 'beano' and thus, BINGO was the new name.
Edwin Lowe took the game of beano and redeveloped into Bingo. He worked with a man named Carl Leffler to help him to increase the games capabilities. By 1930, there were over 6000 different bingo cards.
The game of bingo attracted a catholic priest as a means of fundraising for the church. By 1934, an estimated 10,000 bingo games were played weekly. Today, over $90 million is spent on bingo each week in the US alone.
The game of bingo is played in numerous ways today. Some still play bingo on hard cardboard cards using some form of a marker to cover the called numbers. This is very rare today however. Many land bingo halls now use paper sheets where bingo players can use an ink dauber to mark the called bingo numbers. Some land bingo halls now have a video bingo machine as well where the called bingo numbers are automatically posted on their bingo video machine.
Thanks to our world of technology, bingo lovers can now play bingo in the comforts of their home on the computer. Playing bingo online has become a very popular pastime throughout the world. There are thousands of online bingo sites ranging from FREE to some very large cash prizes. To play bingo online is not as hard as some may think. Most of the work is done by the computer allowing the bingo player to have time and freedom to chat with other fellow bingo players.
To play online bingo, a player must first register with a bingo site. After registering, if the bingo site is a cash to play site, they make a monetary deposit into their accounts. Most online bingo sites reward the bingo players for depositing by crediting them with matching deposit bonuses. After the bingo player has money in their account, they are ready to play bingo. They would purchase their bingo cards and let the games begin. The computer is set up to call 75-90 balls depending on the country that the online bingo site is based. The computer will automatically daub the bingo player’s cards and most times, it will automatically call bingo for the player and credit their account with their winnings. It is really quite a simple game.
Most online bingo sites have a ' bingo chat ' installed as well. In bingo chat, bingo players can participate in chat games with the other bingo players and the chat host. The chat host will play various “chat games†rewarding bingo players with bonus dollars or even, in some cases, hard cold cash. Bingo Chat has fast become a must for online bingo sites. It is the core of the site in many cases. In Bingo Chat, bingo players learn of upcoming events and become part of the bingo community. If a bingo player needs help, the bingo chat host is usually well trained to help the player find the answers.
So as you can see, the game of Bingo has come a long ways from the days of placing beans onto a card. It is a game of chance and brings to the table a great community of people.
Current News
Smoking ban still applies to bingo halls
A Jefferson Circuit Court judge has stuck down a district court order that prohibited the Louisville Metro Health Department from enforcing the city’s old smoking ban in bingo halls.
A district judge had ruled in April that the bingo halls are private clubs and exempt from the ordinance.
But in a Dec. 28 ruling, Jefferson Circuit Judge W. Douglas Kemper ruled that District Judge Sheila Collins exceeded her authority in striking down the ordinance as it relates to bingo halls.
He ruled that state law only allowed her to determine if the Louisville Metro Code Enforcement Board of Appeals acted arbitrarily.
The Jefferson County Attorney’s office only obtained a copy of the Circuit Court order this week.
Kemper effectively ruled that if the bingo halls want to challenge the ordinance, they must file a separate suit in Jefferson Circuit Court.
Kemper remanded the case to district court and ordered the judge to make a finding as to whether the code enforcement board acted arbitrarily.
Whatever the final outcome of the case, it will probably not matter in July, when a new smoking ordinance takes effect that bans smoking in virtually every work place.