The first bingo game was played in 1765, but the name “bingo” wasn’t coined until the 1890s. The name likely originated from the English word “bingo,” meaning to win or gain something by chance. Bingo may have been played as a form of gambling in various places before it became popularized in the United Kingdom. In 1892, a magazine called The Bingo Chronicle published an article about a bingo game being played in a public house in Kent.
The magazine called the game “bingo” and the players “bingos.” The name quickly spread and eventually became known worldwide. There is some debate over whether bingo was actually the first game to use the word “bingo.” However, the first known recorded use of the word “bingo” is in The Bingo Chronicle article, which is considered to be the origin of the term.
