HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In the United States and Canada, bingo is a game of chance in which each player matches the numbers printed in different arrangements on cards. The game host (known as a ''caller'') draws balls at random, marking the selected numbers with tiles. When a player finds that the selected numbers are arranged on their card in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line, they call out "Bingo!" to alert all participants to a winning card, which prompts the game host (or an associate assisting the host) to examine the card for verification of the win. Players compete against one another to be the first to have a winning arrangement for the prize or jackpot. After a winner is declared, the players clear their number cards of the tiles and the game host begins a new round of play. Alternative methods of play try to increase participation by creating excitement. Since its invention in 1929, modern bingo has evolved into multiple variations, with each jurisdiction's gambling laws regulating how the game is played. There are also nearly unlimited patterns that may be specified for play. Some games require only one number to be matched, while cover-all games award the jackpot for covering an entire card. There are even games that award prizes to players for matching no numbers or achieving no pattern.


History

A game of chance named
lotto Lotto may refer to: * Lotto, original, 15th century name of the Italian lottery * Lotto America, one of many U.S. lottery games called Lotto * Lotto (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy * Lotto carpet, a carpet having a lacy arabesq ...
was being played in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
by about 1530. In the 18th century, a home version (called Tombola) was created in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
with the addition of cards, tokens, and the calling out of numbers. In the nineteenth century, a game like this was widely played in Germany to teach children spelling, animal names, and the
multiplication table In mathematics, a multiplication table (sometimes, less formally, a times table) is a mathematical table used to define a multiplication binary operation, operation for an algebraic system. The decimal multiplication table was traditionally tau ...
. The French game ''Le Lotto'' appeared in 1778, featuring 27 squares in a layout of three rows and nine columns. Five squares in each row had numbers ranging from 1 through 90, which led to the modern design. In the early 1920s, Hugh J. Ward created and standardized the game at carnivals in and around
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and the
Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the Unite ...
area. He copyrighted it and published a rule book in 1933. The game was further popularized by Edwin S. Lowe. While at a
traveling carnival A traveling carnival (American English), usually simply called a carnival, travelling funfair or travelling show (British English), is an amusement show that may be made up of List of amusement rides, amusement rides, food vendors, merchandi ...
near
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
in December 1929, the toy merchandiser saw people eagerly playing a game called "Beano", following Ward's rules, with dried beans, a rubber stamp, and cardboard sheets. Lowe took the game to New York, where friends liked playing it. The Lowe-produced bingo game had two versions: a 12-card set for $1.00 and a $2.00 set with 24 cards. By the 1940s, there were bingo games throughout the US. The origin of the name ''Bingo'' is unknown but may date to the mid-1920s. There are claims that one of Lowe's friends was so excited to have won that she yelled out "Bingo" instead of "Beano", or that the word echoes the sound of a bell.


Cards

The most common
bingo card Bingo cards are playing cards designed to facilitate the game of Bingo in its various forms around the world. History In the early 1500s the people of Italy began to play a game called "Lo Gioco del Lotto d'Italia," which literally means "The g ...
s are flat pieces of cardboard or disposable paper that contain 25 squares arranged in five vertical columns and five side-to-side rows. Each space in the grid contains a number, except the middle square, which is designated a "free" space. A typical bingo game utilizes the numbers 1 through 75. The five columns of the card are labeled 'B', 'I', 'N', 'G', and 'O' from left to right. The center space is usually marked "free" or "free space", and is considered automatically filled. The range of printed numbers that can appear on the card is normally restricted by column, with the 'B' column only containing numbers between 1 and 15 inclusive, the 'I' column containing only 16 through 30, 'N' containing 31 through 45, 'G' containing 46 through 60, and 'O' containing 61 through 75. The number of all possible bingo cards with these standard features is = 552,446,474,061,128,648,601,600,000 or approximately . The way the numbers are being assigned to each column makes a horizontal line win about three times more probable than a vertical line win when many people play together. In u-pick 'em bingo and other variants of bingo, players are issued three 25-number cards that contain all 75 numbers that may be drawn. Players then mark which numbers they wish to play and then daub those numbers according to the numbers drawn. In addition, double-action cards have two numbers in each square. A player wins by completing a row, column, or diagonal. The most chips one can place on a bingo board without having a bingo is 19, not counting the free space. (For this to happen, two spots in opposite corners must not be filled along with a spot on one corner of the center away from the two opposite corner spots and finally opposite to that in relation to the center would be two flat against the center piece.) In addition to a straight line, other patterns may be considered a valid bingo in special games. For example, a 2×2 square of marked squares in the upper-right-hand corner could be considered a "
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
". Another commonly valid pattern is covering the four corners. Certain special games only count specific patterns as bingos, such as a roving 'L', which requires players to cover all B's and the top or bottom row or all O's and the top or bottom row, or a blackout, covering all 24 numbers and the free space.


Equipment

The numbers that are called in a game of bingo may be drawn utilizing a variety of methods to randomly generate the ball call. With the expansion of computer technology in bingo, electronic
random number generators Random number generation is a process by which, often by means of a random number generator (RNG), a sequence of numbers or symbols is generated that cannot be reasonably predicted better than by random chance. This means that the particular ou ...
(RNG) are now commonplace in most jurisdictions. Some require mechanical ball draws which may utilize a randomly shuffled deck of bingo calling cards, a mechanical ball blower that mixes ping pong balls with blown air, or a cage that is turned to mix small wooden balls. All methods essentially generate a random string of numbers that players match to the bingo cards that have numbers on them.


Culture

Single games often have multiple bingos; for example, the players first play for a single line; after that, play goes on until a full card is called; then, play continues for a consolation full card. Players often play multiple cards for each game. Because of the large number of cards played by each player, most halls have the players sit at tables to which they often fasten their cards with adhesive tape. To mark cards faster the players usually use special markers called ''daubers''. At commercial halls, after calling the number the caller then displays the next number on a television monitor; bingo cannot be called until that number is called aloud. Bingo is often used as an instructional tool in American schools and in
teaching English as a foreign language Teaching English as a second (TESL) or foreign language (TEFL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English language, English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TEF ...
in many countries. Typically, the numbers are replaced with beginning reader words, pictures, or unsolved math problems. Custom bingo creation programs now allow teachers and parents to create bingo cards using their own content.


Terminology

; Ready/waiting/cased/set/down/pat/open; has a shot/chance :Describes a player who only needs one number in order to complete the bingo pattern. ; Breaking the bubble or "possible" :The bubble is the minimum number of balls required to complete the bingo pattern. This is the earliest point any player could have a valid bingo. For standard bingo games, at least one number in each column or four/five numbers in a single column need to be called for a bingo to be possible. ; Jumping the gun/premature bingo/social error/bongo :One who calls bingo before having a valid bingo. The most common situation is someone calling bingo using the next number in the screen before it has been called. :; False alarm or just practicing ::A
tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...
term used when one calls bingo but is mistaken. This could be because of mishearing the caller or stamping the wrong number by mistake. Someone who calls a "falsie" genuinely believes that they have a bingo. ; Wild numbers :Many bingo halls will have certain games with a wild number. Wild numbers allow bingo players to start with multiple called numbers. Typically, the first ball drawn is the determining factor. :;Standard ::All numbers ending with the second digit of the first number. Example: First ball is 22. All numbers ending in a 2 including B2 is considered a called number. :;Forwards/backwards ::All numbers beginning or ending with the wild number. Example: First ball is 22. All numbers beginning or ending with a 2 is considered a called number. If the first number ends with an 8, 9, or 0, another number may be drawn as there are no numbers starting with an 8 or 9 and only 9 numbers starting with a 0. Some halls will also redraw a number ending with a 7 as there are only six numbers beginning with a 7. ; Hard-way bingo :A bingo pattern in a straight line without the use of the free space. ; Reach : In Japan, a player will yell "Reach" when they are one space away from a bingo.


Business

In the United States, bingo games are commonly organized by churches or charity organizations, with their legality and stakes varying by state regulation. Bingo halls in some states are rented out to sponsoring organizations, and these halls often host games almost daily. Church-run games, on the other hand, are typically weekly events held on church premises. These games are usually played for modest stakes, although the final game of a session often features a coverall game with a larger jackpot prize for winning within a certain quantity of numbers called. A progressive jackpot is one that may increase per session until it is won. Commercial bingo games in the US are primarily offered by
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
s (only in the state of
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
) and Native American bingo halls, which are often located in the same venue as Native American-run casinos. In Nevada, bingo is mainly offered by casinos catering to local gamblers, rather than the famous tourist resorts. They typically offer one-hour sessions on the odd hours, such as 9 am, 11 am, and 1 pm daily, usually from 9 am to 11 pm, with relatively modest stakes except for coverall jackpots. Most bingo parlors in Las Vegas use handheld machines for the games. Native American games usually offer only one or two sessions a day and are often played for higher stakes than charity games to attract players from distant places. Some also offer a special progressive jackpot game that may link players from multiple bingo halls. In both Canada and the United States, some
gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...
s and other LGBT-oriented organizations host bingo events, often combined with a
drag show A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag (entertainment), drag artists impersonating men or women, typically in a bar or nightclub as a burlesque-style, adult-themed nightclub event. The modern drag show originated in the speake ...
and marketed as "Drag Bingo" or "Drag Queen Bingo". "Drag Bingo" events originated in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
in the early 1990s as a fundraiser for local
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
charities. They have since expanded to many other cities across North America, supporting a diverse range of charities.
Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga (; ) is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is ...
, with one bingo hall for every 6,800 residents, is believed to have the highest concentration of bingo halls in the United States. The suburb of Buffalo's large
Polish-American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
population is thought to be a factor in bingo's significant popularity in
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
, which has five times as many bingo halls per capita as the rest of the state.


Electronic

The advent of computer technology in bingo has blurred the lines between traditional slot machines and bingo slot machines. To the average person, bingo-based slot machines are physically indistinguishable from an RNG based slot machine typically seen in Atlantic City or Las Vegas. These devices are commonly called Class II machines, because the federal
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (, ''et seq.'') is a 1988 United States federal law that establishes the jurisdictional framework that governs Indian gaming. There was no federal gaming structure before this act. The stated purposes of the ...
separated bingo, including electronic and mechanical aids, where players play against each other, from Class III slot machines, where players play against the house. As a result of the passage of SB1180 in 2017, the State of Arizona now allows technological aids for bingo games that function only as an electronic substitute for bingo cards. These technological aids are not defined by Arizona law or regulation, but one such electronic technological aid consists of a system which includes a network linking player interfaces to a number drawing device (ball-draw server) and an electronic substitute for a "live" cashier. The player interfaces themselves do not contain random number generators or allow a player to directly deposit cash. Rather, the Arizona technological aid system allows a player to deposit money into a unique individual player's account, pay for the games played out of that account, and at the end of play redeposit the value of any unused games that the player may have purchased or won back into that account. The system does not allow the player to print a redemption ticket or receive anything of value directly from the player interface. Music bingo is growing in popularity and is finding its way into bars, pubs, and other events as bingo is already a familiar concept and when integrated with music, also results in fun and collaboration among players (singing along to the songs that are randomly played). It was introduced as a game show in 1958 and continues to expand today.


Game shows

* '' Lingo'', a
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
incorporating Bingo mechanics and five-letter words * Slingo, an online game that blends slots and bingo * '' Pinoy Bingo Night'', a game show in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
with
Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (; born February 14, 1971) is a Filipino retired television presenter, actress, talent manager and film producer. She notably appeared as Princess Intan in the acclaimed '' Crazy Rich Asians'' and is a rec ...
on
ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...
. * '' Bingo America'', a bingo-based viewer-participation game show on GSN * '' National Bingo Night'', a bingo-based viewer participation game show on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
that ended in 2007 * '' Bingo Blitz'', a game show on GSN based on the mobile game of the same name


See also

* Bingo (card game) *
Keno Keno is a lottery-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and also offered as a game in some lotteries. Players wager by choosing numbers ranging from 1 through (usually) 80. After all players make their wagers, 20 numbers (some va ...
*
Lotería ''Lotería'' (Spanish word meaning "lottery") is a traditional Mexican board game of chance, similar to bingo, but played with a deck of cards instead of numbered balls. Each card has an image of an everyday object, its name, and a number, al ...
*
Lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...
*
Online bingo Online bingo is the game of bingo (either the US or UK variant) played on the Internet. Sites offering the game launched around 1996, and the global gross gaming yield outside of the United States was estimated at US$500 million in 2006, foreca ...
, Bingo played on the Internet * Pakapoo * Screeno, Bingo played by movie audience members


References


External links


BBC article on Bingo Calling

Directory of Bingo Halls in USA
{{Authority control * Gambling games