By: Anna Phalen

After my eighth game of BINGO for the evening, I found my thoughts wandering. I couldn’t help but wonder, where did this seemingly simple yet magnificent game come from? What is its story, and why does it continue to call my name on a Friday night? 

So, let’s take a moment to slow life down a bit and dive into the history of BINGO.   

A fan favorite in America since the 1920s, BINGO has European roots. It began as Lo Gioco del Lotto d’Italia, a game still played every Saturday in Italy. From Italy, the game crossed into France in the late 1700s, where it became known as Le Lotto, a pastime of the French aristocracy. In the early days of America, however, we decided to make it our own—and named it Beano. Legend has it, that during an intense game, a man mistakenly shouted “Bingo!” instead of “Beano,” and word spread.  

BINGO gained real traction when a toy manufacturer from Long Island, Edwin S. Lowe, first encountered the game at a carnival in Georgia. Recognizing its potential, he began manufacturing and selling it to the public—he later went on to market the game Yahtzee. 

For those living under a rock, BINGO is a game where players mark numbers on cards as they are called out, trying to complete a pattern to win. The first to do so shouts BINGO!  In a split second one word has the power to shatter countless hopes as it echoes through the room. For the winning player, however, it’s a rush like no other. The prize, whether it’s $30 or $1,000, feels secondary to the raw emotion of the win—the BINGO.  

They say it’s the closest thing to pure joy man can experience. It happened to me once, but the details have become fuzzy over the years.   

This is where the real thrill of BINGO lies: the possibility of the unexpected.  

There are no strategies—no rules that predict success. It’s all about timing, luck, and fate.  

Every player knows they could walk away empty-handed, but they keep coming back because, in BINGO, anything can happen at any minute. 

All that matters is that single moment when luck is on your side—and that is somehow enough.