What is bingo?

Bingo is a game by which the participating players cross off the numbers they have been allocated on their scorecards, as they are called out by the bingo caller. The winner is the first person to cross off all their numbers.

Each player in the game should have differing sequences of numbers on their scorecards, although some singular numbers may overlap between players. Each scorecard should have the same number of numbers written on it, in order to ensure fair play all round – also try 9 Masks of Fire slot.

That’s just bingo in its simplest form though. If you scroll through any online site providing bingo, there are so many different types to choose from. 

What are the origins of bingo? 

Bingo originated in Italy in the 1530s, and is one of the lesser-known exports from the European renaissance and enlightenment. After travelling around Europe for a couple of centuries, principally aristocratic France, the game known unimaginatively as “the game” travelled the Atlantic in search of pastures new and a more interesting moniker. 

Known initially as “Beano” in the New World as it was played with beans (gambling for money was strictly prohibited), destiny called at a town carnival in the mid-19th century. It’s not often that fate calls at a fete, but the story goes that a woman, delighted at having won the game, excitedly yelled “bingo” instead of “beano”. The name stuck.

The final twist to bingo as we’d recognise it today was added back home in Britain. Ever the sticklers for fair-play and terrified that cheating could sully its integrity, the English invented the Random Number Generator, which methodically and randomly plucks the numbers from the hat, eliminating human corruption forever. 

The many faces of bingo 

The great thing about bingo is how versatile it is. There are countless ways you can bend and mould the format, as you can see online today. 

These variations of the bingo format may range from things like 90-ball bingo, 80-ball bingo, and 75-ball bingo, right up to totally different concepts like Slingo. 

Slingo is a mixture of slots games and bingo which is really common and hugely popular online. If you’re a fan of bingo, it is definitely worth trying out! 

Bingo is good for the brain! 

You may simply categorise bingo as a harmless form of light entertainment, but it’s actually proven to be good for the brain.

It has helped mathematicians understand more about the concepts of randomness and probability, and scientists say that it aids the brain’s capacity to solve logical problems.

With this in mind, it’s clear to see why bingo is used in education. Tests show that children who play bingo are more likely to find quick solutions to mathematical problems given to them. This includes algebra, multiplication, division, and even logarithms. 

So what is bingo? In short, it is many things. It’s entertainment, it’s educational, it’s a science, and it’s a great way to have some fun and earn some serious cash prizes!

Online bingo is a lucrative business now, and the money involved grows each year. That’s what draws people in – the pay-outs!