Bingo began in Italy. It was originally a trusted lottery dealer game but developed into the modern game in Europe through the 15th century. It was heavily modified by the French and then subsequently through the Germans before it became the game we all now know and love.

Despite being invented within the 15th century it was not popular until the 19th century. During this time it spread globally and had a meteoric rise in the USA. It was played both for entertainment and used as a tool to raise funds for several charitable organisations.

After the 19th century bingo became quite stagnant. It saw a rise all over the world in the 1970s and 1980s but it developed a bad image as being a game that only older people played.

Fast forward to the new millennium and online bingo has been introduced. The on-line bingo game plays exactly the exact same as the land based bingo game. The only difference is that the numbers appear on your screen in place of having to be crossed out from your bingo card by hand.

The online bingo game has a unique community atmosphere. The bingo rooms are exciting places where everybody communicates and chats with each other. Everyone celebrates the winners and people begin to get excited when someone has 1 or 2 numbers left before they get a full house.

The real-life bingo cages are replaced with a random number generator program that pulls out numbers randomly. As opposed to a real life person calling out the number, the number flashes up on your screen and is crossed of your bingo card.

You’ll find various ways to win at online bingo, the exact same as real-life bingo. If you get 5 boxes in a row, in a column or across diagonally you win a prize. Determined by the stakes you play for, i.e. are you playing for 1p per ticket or 50p per ticket, you win a prize corresponding to the stakes. The higher stakes you play the bigger prize you can win.

Unlike real life bingo you should not have to be alert and cross off your number quickly. The number flashes up on your screen and is crossed off automatically.

In order to get the most out of the game it is necessary that you learn the many jargon and terminology. You can find various names that players use as a representation for each bingo number. Additionally there are various short hand chat phrases that players use to communicate in the chat box. Usually the bingo sites provide players with a glossary of widely used terms to ensure that you can learn them and understand what is going on in the chat box.

Players looking to transition in to the world of online bingo will want to look out for a number of bonuses, offers and promotions. At different times of the year each site runs various bonuses and promotions. These special deals give players an extra incentive to play and boost the chances that you win some cash. Some sites offer free bingo for real money without having to deposit. We strongly suggest you take advantage of these deals in case you are new to bingo. They enable you to play bingo for real money and don’t require you to deposit to play.