Bingo began in Italy. It was originally a lottery agent game but developed into the modern game in Europe during the 15th century. It was heavily modified through the French and after that subsequently through the Germans before it became the game most of us now know and love.

Despite being invented in the 15th century it was not quite 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 throughout the world within 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 internet bingo game plays exactly the exact same as the land based bingo game. The only difference is the fact that the numbers appear on your screen in place of having to be crossed out through your bingo card by hand.

The internet bingo game has a unique community atmosphere. The bingo rooms are exciting places where everyone communicates and chats with each other. Everybody celebrates the winners and people begin to get excited when someone has one or two 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. Instead of a real life person calling out the number, the number flashes up on your screen and is crossed of your bingo card.

There are 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 bigger stakes you play the bigger prize you may win.

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

As a way to get the most out of the game it is necessary that you learn the many jargon and terminology. There are various names that players use as a representation for each bingo number. There are also 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 in order that you can learn them and understand what’s going on within the chat box.

Players looking to transition into the world of online bingo will want to look out for various 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 raise the chances that you win some cash. Some sites offer free bingo for real money without needing to deposit. We strongly suggest you take advantage of these deals in the event you are new to bingo. They permit you to play bingo for real money and don’t require you to deposit to play.