Bingo: From Italian Lottery to Household Name
The birth of the Italian lottery:
The year was 1530, and bingo, although not known as such then, is already an established name in Italy. The government has been sponsoring a state lottery for some time, and it is enjoying a widespread popularity among the people, even with staunch opposition from the Catholic church who was against the random casting of lots involved in the game.
The game was an equally successful hit in France. In fact, France's upper class took such a liking to the game that they named it Le lotto. The rest of the population took suit, and the game was played all over France, despite the French's Catholic church's opposition. The French played the game using a set of cards that had numbers arranged into rows an columns, and numbered wooden chips that a caller would draw out from a cloth bag. Once a number was called the corresponding number on the cards was marked. Whoever completed a horizontal line on their cards won.
Bingo in America: The Game of Beans: Bingo came to American rather quietly. It was one of the games in a carnival near Atlanta, Georgia. Edmund Lowe, a salesman, happened to pass by and saw the game being played in one of the carnival booths. He was so intrigued by the game that was played with numbered cards and wooden numbered chips drawn out from a cigar box.
The players all seemed to get excited as they marked their numbers with beans. As soon as anyone completed a complete set of numbers in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line, that person got up and shouted 'BEANO' which was the name of the game. That person was usually given a Kewpie doll as prize.
Lowe liked the game so much that upon arriving home in New York he immediately created his own beano game kit and started to play the game with his friends. One day a female friend was playing the game and in her excitement shouted out 'bingo' instead of 'beano'. Hence, the name stuck. Lowe saw that the name and the game was a great marketing opportunity. He quickly created his own line of bingo cards and he started selling them for one or two dollars each, and from then on bingo's popularity started to soar.
A priest from Pennsylvania soon approached Lowe and told him of a little dilemma. The bingo games held in their church's fund raisers usually turned up a dozen or more numbers, not a very good since the church wanted to raise more money and not give it away. He suggested to Lowe that the number combinations for the cards be made more complicated so that fewer winners will turn up after every game.
Lowe turned to carl Leffler, a math professor from Columbia University, who agreed to take on the task. He was soon able to create 6000 number combinations, but the pressure that Lowe put upon him to accomplish this task was reportedly was so great that he went mad soon afterwards.
From its Italian lottery beginnings, bingo has grown to become a large industry and a household name, known and played by millions all over the world. It is used in churches, schools, even in the military, to raise funds for various causes. With the right mix of excitement, clean fun, and huge fund raising potential, bingo is definitely here to stay.
