Bingo came to the United States in the early 1900’s as a derivative of a lottery type game played across Europe since at least the 15th century.
In the United States bingo was originally know as beano, deriving its name from the beans used to cover the called numbers on the card.
The game, found at traveling carnivals and fairs with small almost valueless prizes awarded to the winners, was familiar to nearly everyone.
By the 1930s, the name had evolved to bingo and churches and other charitable organizations adopted it as a method of raising funds for their projects. There were not many populated areas in the United States where weekly or monthly bingo games could not be found.
Casino bingo arrived almost simultaneously with casinos themselves. It was one game that the casinos found they could lure even those who opposed gambling of other varieties to play.
Casino bingo has changed little in concept over the years but has seen huge changes in the manner it is played.
Gone are the days of the “caller” twirling the cage and pulling out the next ball. Marking the called numbers with highlite pens or chips is also outdated in casinos.
Bingo machines now allow players to play up to 200 separate bingo cards at one time and the player entering the number just one time can automatically check every one of the cards.
Bingo games may vary from the standard to x bingo, six pack bingo and coverall bingo and the winnings in some casinos that allow progressive pots can reach tens of thousands of dollars.
Casino style bingo is the only form of electronic gaming allowed by some states.