We have all been led to believe that the name “bingo” evolved in the USA from a game called Beano. A certain toy manufacturer, Edwin S Lowe apparently saw the game of beano being played at a county fair. Took it home and one player got so excited that they stood up and shouted “Bingo” instead of beano and the name stuck, making the US responsible for the name “Bingo” claim to fame. So the story is told!

This is now being questioned by Historian Dr. Carolyn Down. Her research apparently exposes a wealth of information regarding the birth of the name “Bingo”. It also goes into how the game was played in the trenches during World War 1 and how it grew as both a political and social fundraising game through the 20th century. She also questions our belief that the game was first named bingo in the USA.

Her research suggests that the name bingo was already in use in the UK prior to the USA incident in 1929.   The newly published article “A History of Bingo in The UK” uncovers a few surprises along the way. Not least of which is the claim to fame of the name, she believes that the name was being used in the UK concurrently with Edwin Lowe’s discovery. Apparently the matter does need further evidence, but perhaps, just perhaps we have been mislead into believing that the current history we have on the game is misplaced and should be revised.

Tags: , Bingo