Does anybody know anything about the history of bingo?

Question

Example questions I would like answered:

Who invented it (I would prefer the name of a person, though the name of a nation or organisation would do)?

Is it an ancient invention or a modern one?

I don't remember a time when there was no Bingo halls, so from where did the modern popularity of Bingo come from?

Who developed it in modern times?

If you can supply any information which doesn't snugly fit with answers to these questions, please feel free to do so.

Answer 1

In the U.S., bingo was originally called "beano". It was a country fair game where a dealer would select numbered discs from a cigar box and players would mark their cards with beans. They yelled "beano" if they won.



http://strangelife.com/bingodoc/bingohist.html
Bingo as we know it today is a form of lottery and is a direct descendant of Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia.When Italy was united in 1530, the Italian National Lottery Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia was organized, and has been held, almost without pause, at weekly intervals to this date. Today the Italian State lottery is indispensable to the government's budget, with a yearly contribution in excess of 75 million dollars....

Answer 2

Experts estimate that 52 million Americans play bingo regularly, spending up to $3.5 billion a year on this popular form of gambling. Bingo was first played at a Georgia carnival in 1929, w/ beans used to cover the numbers. The winners, who received small dolls as their prize, were to shout "Beano!" when they had completed their card. The first winner, in her excitement, stammered "B-B-Bingo!" and that later became the name of the game.
In some states, churches (especially the Catholic church) and other charitable organizations began to use low-stakes bingo to raise money. By the1940s and 1950s, charitable bingo had been legalized in most states. In recent years, charitable bingo has been joined by high-stakes commercial bingo, "instant" bingo, and even video bingo. Most compulsive gamblers addicted to bingo are elderly people on fixed incomes, who can ill afford their gambling losses.

Answer 3

I think it was originally played at fair-grounds, but I don`t know if it was the same game as to-days. I do know that it was played during the second world war. When people went down into the under-ground railway stations to shelter from the bombings, someone always seemed to have a game of it with them. It was at that time called "Lotto" and when someone had a full card they would shout out "Housey-Housey".

Answer 4

The Romans loved it and played it all the time , nobody knows who invented it but the ancient Egyptians had a game similar to it

Answer 5

It was played in the Royal Navy many many years ago under the name of Tombola. .
P.S.
Whats BITS on toast in navy parlance.
Beans in tomato sauce !!
Whats T*TS on toast in navy paralance
Tomatoes in tomato sauce

Answer 6

BINGO WAS CREATED BY A GERMAN MAN I WAS TOLD AND IT STARTED IN HIS BACK YARD,INTO HIS HOME, AT SCHOOL, THEN CHURCH , NOW ITS EVERYWHERE I FEEL LIKE I CREATED BINGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I LOVE PLAYING BINGO EVERYWHERE

Answer 7

monks invented it.. but more importantly they also invented cider

Answer 8

i dunno