Bingo Online for Real Money

Aside from classical games of skill like chess, Italians are known for introducing one of the earliest forms of Bingo call Il Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia. These lottery-style games of chance helped local governments pay for public works projects.

Eventually Italian lottery games started to spread all over Europe. In the late-1700’s, the French introduced Le Lotto what would eventually become the design we now, a square grid with three rows and nine columns.

In Italy and Germany, BINGO-style games were used as educational tools to teach spelling, math and history.

According to several sources, two men are credited with introducing BINGO to the United States. Hugh J. Ward ran sessions at Western Pennsylvania carnivals, which then spread to other fairs around the country as a new game of chance amusement.

Down in Atlanta, toy maker Edwin Lowe stumbled upon a version of the game played with dried beans and aptly named, Beano.

Ward created an at-home boxed version of BINGO and copyrighted it initially, but failed to renew the legal document. After a successful stint of running BINGO games back in New York, Lowe also created a mass-produced home version, which took the country by storm.

While many churches and fraternal organizations offered legitimate bingo halls as fundraisers, there were often unsanctioned games occurring within the gaming underground.

BINGO halls hit their stride in the middle part of the last century for those who liked to water a little extra scratch, but couldn’t afford a trip to Las Vegas or Reno. The BINGO experience was likely right down the road or available at the next festival or fair.

As casino operators embraced digital and turned online 15-20 years ago, BINGO was quick to follow as a specialty game offering at most gambling sites.

From an Italian lottery back in the 1500’s to the world wide web in less than 500 years is quite the trip for this classic game enjoyed by millions every year.