Hollywood has taught us that bingo is a game that brings the senior citizens together in their retirement homes. A once a week game that all the retirees look forward to. It has painted a picture of this timeless game being something that only those as old as the game itself, is allowed to play. The truth is however far from what tinsel town tells us.
The game originated in around 1530 in France and was played by young and old alike. Notable is the fact that when it migrated to the rest of the world in the 1700’s and as the game evolved and off shoots were created it also became a tool in Germany, to teach children multiplications, spelling and even history. The focussing on the numbers is also believed to keep the mind fresh and active. Suddenly the importance of the old lady playing bingo becomes clear.
But let us fast forward to more recent past and see how the game went from colour markers and cardboards to an electronic game with colourful imagery.
The First Online Bingo
The first online bingo site was created in the United States of America in 1996 and was called Bingo Zone. Even though this original site was incredibly basic – what more could you need right? – it paved the way the classic game and shot it into the future. The site was a free site and ran about 90 balls every day. Players could sign in at just about any time of the day to play a game or two.
The site was supported by all operating systems and browsers, making it easy for anyone to log on for free and then win real money. Yes you read correctly. You signed up for free of charge and could then win actual money that would be transferred to your bank account. The company that owns this site, to this day is called Gamesville and is since April 2020, been in the process of giving it a new facelift and breathing new life into it.
Online Bingo, From Then Till Now
But the world of computers has grown exponentially since 1996 and continues to grow on just about a daily basis. New tech is old within a year and we are constantly keeping up with the virtual Jones’s. Bingo Zone was the pioneer that inspired a revolutionary armada of online bingo sites to be created. If you type in ‘Online Bingo Games’ into Google, you will get 179 000 000 responses in less that 0.7 seconds. That alone shows you the how this game exploded. Bet you are no longer thinking that it is only played by your granny and her friends.
The online world of bingo doesn’t stop with laptop or desktop. The games expanding into the world of cell phone apps, you can now also download a plethora of bingo games straight onto your phone. Just be careful that you – in the hype of the game – yell out ‘Bingo!’ in your local supermarket.
