The history of bingo begins in Spain in 1530. A lottery game called Lo Giuoco Code Loto was extremely popular throughout the country. By the eighteenth century the game had changed, incoroprating cards, tokens, and the reading out of numbers - many of the elements common to todays game. In the nineteenth century the game had become so pervasive it wsas even modified and used in schools, to teach children spelling and multiplication.
A lottery game called By the nineteenth century the game had spread to the americas; and by the early 20th century it had come to be called Beano. In 1929, in a carnival near Atlanta, a game of Beano was being played with dried beans, rubber stamps and simple cardboard sheets. A certain Edward Lowe had observed how captivated the participants were. The potential for commercialization struck him, and he took the game to New York. The game was an immediate success - and it is said that one of the early players in New York gave it the name we know it by today, when he shouted out "bingo" instead of "beano" when he won. The Low Bingo Game spread like wildfire throughout America - from New York all the way down to Miami, it was played on street corners, in restaurants, on the docks. It was not long before every ocean liner had to have a bingo hall, if it wanted to attract customers. The game had two versions: a twelve card set and a twenty four card set, the latter being more popular, but costing twice the price at $2.00. Lowe had many rivals, who all wanted a piece of the action, but all he asked was a payment of $1.00 a year, and that they use the name Bingo.
