Bingo is a numeric game of combination evolved from the sixteenth century Italian lottery. The Italian Government introduced the game of Bingo as a means to raise money for the country after the re-unification of Italy. It soon grew in popularity and eventually spread to the other countries of Europe. In the late 18th century it was played by French noblemen and was used by German schoolchildren for educational purposes. In North America in the late 1920s the game was played by the name of Beano. Though it took off as a gambling game, it was socially accepted and is one of the popular ways of raising money for charity and for fun in parties and get-to-gethers.

The factors that make Bingo popular:
* The game of Bingo is fun

* The game of Bingo is simple: It has no complicated rules, playing strategy or requires no skills

* The game of Bingo allows the player to relax at the land-based bingo hall

* The game of Bingo allows the players free to talk with the other players in the area: Socialization was always one of the big aspects of land based bingo play

* People treated the game of Bingo as a social event and looked forward to seeing their friends at the games

* Bingo game is a form of charitable fund raising at churches

* People played the game of Bingo for the fun and entertainment: People treated the cost of playing the game of Bingo worth the entertainment

Types of Bingo games:

* UK Bingo halls: Most of the UK bingo halls offer 90 number bingo games. Here, the bingo tickets have nine columns and numbers goes up to 90. There are five numbers in each row and bingo is achieved when the player completes one, two or three lines. The eighty number version of the game is relatively new.

* US Bingo halls: The seventy-five number or American version of Bingo is played on a card with a five number by five number grid with one letter from the word BINGO over each column.

The game of Bingo also differs in the arrangement of rows, vertical, horizontal or diagonal or even shaped like letters, symbols or animals.

The game of Bingo:

* The first person that completes the bingo pattern, calls “bingo”

* The game stops and numbers of tickets are tallied

* The player is declared as winner and awarded with a prize amount

* If there is more than one winner, the prize is split amongst all the winners

* Progressive jackpot games add to the fun and excitement

* Progressive jackpot offers increased jackpot with every game.

* To win the big jackpot, the player must achieve bingo in a specified number of calls

* The number of calls in the progressive jackpot increases with each game since it makes it easier to win

* This contributes to the variety of the game are the prizes

* The player also accumulates bonuses points in the loyalty program

* The bonus points can be converted into wagering credits or redeemed for merchandise

The game of Bingo is a fair game of luck and chance: The numbered bingo balls thoroughly get mixed up in the bingo machine’s mixing chamber. Balls are drawn independently and at random and the bingo caller announces the number. This gives every bingo card the same chance of having the winning numbers.

By Meshaal MacLean
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