The winner then shouts 'Bingo' or 'House' and a staff member checks their card. Cross off the numbers in your bingo book as the announcer, or 'bingo caller' calls them. The game became a household name in many countries as a result. Seeing the game's potential, these entrepreneurs made it possible for players to buy cheap tickets and have a chance of winning big cash prizes. It was also helped by shrewd businessmen Eric Morley and Edwin Lowe. It might explain why the game took off so rapidly in the 1960s, where people eager to spend their disposable income flocked to play Bingo on the weekend. Perhaps the secret to Bingo's success is that such a simple concept can generate so much excitement. It spread to Germany, where it was used as a tool to teach kids numbers, before ending up in the UK and the USA in the 20th century where the modern version of the game started to form.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, aristocrats in Italy and then France played an early form of bingo at social events. While the two most popular variants of bingo, the British and US versions, have slightly different scorecards and winning sequences, they both come from the same root. The first player to match a particular sequence gets a prize, normally in the form of cash. So, as the old-time Bingo callers used to say: 'eyes down, look in!' A quick overview of bingoīingo is a popular game of chance that involves players matching numbers on their individual card to numbers drawn at random by a person or machine. You can also read about the history of bingo here, how to play the game and which variants to look out for. Maybe you'll be surprised at how many added features they have, and how entertaining it can be to just play for fun. If you feel the urge to play online, then you can play a wide range of free bingo games on this page. The game is so popular because it's so easy to play – and many players love the suspense of waiting for the next ball and being the first to shout 'Bingo!' Whether playing with your friends at a bingo hall, or giving the online games a try, you've probably played bingo before.

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