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Who invented Bingo?

Did you know that Bingo and Housie have their roots in 16th century Italy? 

They began as the Italian national lottery and by the late 1700’s, rich dignitaries and the elite classes in France were playing Housie, where it was called Le Lotto. The game then spread to other European countries and in the 19th century it was used in Germany for children’s games as a learning tool. It was only when the game reached the United States in the early 1900’s that the game really started to become Bingo as we know it today.

In 1929, a New York toy salesman called Edwin Lowe came across the game at a carnival in Germany where he saw that players were marking their card numbers with beans. When he asked them what they were playing, they told him the game was called ‘Beano’. While he was watching, one of the players shouted out “Bingo!” instead of “Beano!” in his excitement, giving it the name it has today. Lowe saw how much the players enjoyed the game so took it back to the US with him. With the help of a mathematician, Edwin enhanced the game by producing thousands more number combinations for the Bingo tickets. The game then spread back to Europe and other continents, where it was adapted over time to become the 90-ball game enjoyed around the world today.

The first person to use the game to raise money for charitable purposes was a priest in Pennsylvania who raised money for his church.

In NSW, the games of Bingo and Charity Housie are the same in terms of the mechanics of the game. The difference is found in the prizes. Bingo is played for non-cash prizes such as vouchers or food hampers, while Charity Housie can be played for cash and prizes.