Few games are as popular as bingo. Every day, millions of players put their eyes down and get their dabbers ready, joining friends in this classic social game.

With such a rich history that spans several centuries and as many continents, there are a lot of interesting facts and trivia about bingo. So many, in fact, you could even host your own bingo trivia game night.

What Was the Original Name Of Bingo

Bingo has had several names of its history and it’s still known as different things in different countries today.

Some day, bingo’s original name was Beano, referencing a time when the game was played with beans. When a number was called that was also on their ticket, the player would place a bean over it and when they cleared a win pattern, they’d shout “BEANO!”

Over time, that morphed into bingo and the name stuck.

However, that wasn’t the original name of bingo. The game can be traced back to its Italian roots (more on that below) where it was called ‘Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia’.

Who is the world’s biggest bingo winner?

There is some disagreement over who won the biggest bingo prize but the Guinness Book of World Records names Christine Bradfield as the holder of that title.

She bagged £1,101,686 after winning the full house prize on 27th January 2008. She had been playing at the Castle Leisure Bingo Club in the small south Wales town of Merthyr Tydfil.

Which country did bingo originate in?

The history of bingo is long and spans across Europe, the Atlantic, and the Americas. However, it began life in Italy as ‘Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia’ or ‘The National Lottery of Italy’. The game has evolved over time to become the bingo that we know today, but the two share several key similarities.

When was bingo invented?

The original game of bingo, Italy’s ‘Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia’ was first played in the 1530s, shortly after the unification of the country. It quickly spread from Italy to neighbouring countries and reached the shores of Great Britain by the 1800s.

How many people play Bingo in the UK each week

Bingo remains one of the most popular games in the UK. Across physical bingo halls and fabulous online bingo games like those here at Pink Casino, more than 3 million Brits play each week.

How many different numbers are used in a bingo game

The standard British version of bingo uses 90 different numbers, hence its name of ‘90-ball bingo’.

But there are many other variants of bingo that use a different set of numbers. These include:

80-ball bingo 75- ball bingo 50-ball bingo 30-ball bingo

There are also versions of bingo that don’t use numbers at all. Picture bingo follows the same format and mechanics of more traditional variants but replaces the numbers with pictures.

What is the first number that is drawn in a bingo game called?

When you first start playing bingo, you’ll realise there are a lot of words and phrases understood by players and callers. Commonly referred to as ‘bingo lingo’, these are terms that help to speed up the game and remove ambiguity.

In some bingo games, particularly those played in a physical bingo hall, the first number drawn at the beginning of that session is called the ‘Lucky Number’.

This is used for a special prize that’s known as the ‘Lucky Jar’ or ‘Cookie Jar’. Whenever this number is called again during the session, additional money is added to the total in the jar. Then, if a player calls house on that Lucky Number, they also win the contents of the jar.

What is the call for 22?

When a bingo caller announces 22, you’ll usually first hear them call “ducks on the pond” or “two little ducks”. This is similar to the number 2, which is called as “one little duck”.

2 and 22 are special numbers in bingo lingo because they warrant a response from the players. For one little duck, players will shout “quack”, whilst for two little ducks, you’ll hear “quack, quack, quack” bellowed out across the hall.

What does the number 77 mean in bingo?

In bingo lingo, 77 has two possible nicknames. You may hear it called “two little crutches”, referencing the fact that the number 7 looks like a crutch.

Older generations were more likely to hear “Sunset Strip”, referencing a TV show from the 1960s called “77 Sunset Strip”. The latter has been phased out over time to accommodate younger players.

What is the call for 10 in bingo?

The number 10 in British bingo lingo is one of the few calls that change regularly. Referencing the official residence of the UK’s Prime Minister, a bingo caller will announce the name of the PM and refer to their home as their ‘den’.

For example, during the 1980s bingo players will have heard “Maggie’s den, number 10”, whereas players today will be used to hearing “Keir’s den, number 10”.

What is the key to the door in bingo?

Today, bingo callers will announce 21 as the ‘key to the door’. It is a reference to the age that people are seen as coming of age, with the key being a metaphor of getting their own home. This has changed over time with some bingo callers still referencing 18 as the “old key to the door” and 21 as the “new key to the door”.