Two Periods in the UK’s History of Bingo
Bingo is a centuries old game. It has its roots in 16th century Italy, where the first type of Bingo game was played as the Italian national lottery. Soon, the popularity of this lottery spread across Europe, gaining momentum in both France and Germany. It made its informal arrival in the UK at about the same time that it was becoming an organized game in America. From there, the UK’s history of Bingo can be split into two separate periods: charity Bingo and gambling Bingo.
At the end of the First World War, as the UK began to get back on its feet, a new game developed for charitable purposes. Called a variety of names, from Housey Housey to Tombola to Lotto, this game was essentially an early version of Bingo. It’s likely that this game arrived to England through the international contact of the time as the game was also popularly used in Germany as an education tool. In fact, the game also arrived to America from Germany ten years later, in 1929.
During the first period of UK Bingo, which lasts from 1918 to 1960, Housey Housey was a game played by organizations from the Catholic Church to holiday camps. The game was played lottery-style, and the money that it raised was often donated to charitable causes. Women’s groups, churches, and workingmen’s groups often used Bingo games to fundraise. In this way, they could gather large amounts of people (it wasn’t uncommon then for 500 people to play one game together), enjoy socializing and gaming, and then donate the proceeds to the less fortunate.
The aim of UK Bingo took a turn in a completely different direction starting in 1960. Under the government’s Gaming Act of 1960, Bingo was commercialized. It went from being a charity event to a profitable industry, where organized crime, outrageous prizes and a gritty underground atmosphere were the defining features of the game. It was at this time that Eric Morley saw the potential to reinvent Bingo in the same spirit as what he had seen in America. When the Gaming Act of 1968 was passed, legalizing the ability to win prizes from the game, the Bingo industry began to make over its image. The first official Bingo Hall was developed in Canton, Cardiff, and from there more clubs sprouted up around the country. The National Bingo Game was introduced in the 80s, a great period for Bingo in which it enjoyed immense commercial success.
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