Origins of Bingo

By Metro Creative

What do Bingo and pizza have in common? It appears each originated in Italy and are enjoyed across the globe.

Bingo is derived from the Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia, which is the Italian national lottery that has been played since 1530. It is still played every Saturday in Italy. The game was later introduced to France, where it was known as Le Lotto, and Germany, where it was a child’s game to help students learn key subjects. Bingo soon found itself on American soil, and originally was called “Beano.” Players at country fairs would mark their numbered cards with beans after dealers selected numbered discs from cigar boxes. When players won the game, they’d yell out “beano.”

An enterprising New York salesman named Edwin S. Lowe came across the game at a carnival in Georgia, and overheard someone accidentally yell “bingo” in stead of “beano” upon winning. Lowe renamed the game and hired a Columbia University math professor to come up with a higher number of combinations for playing cards so there would be fewer non-repeating groups. Lowe ultimately marketed the redeveloped game as “Bingo.”

— Metro Creative