Bingo is an English word that means “a game in which a player tries to get all of the cards in a set row, column, or group” (Hastings). Bingo is also known as French bingo, Italian bingo, and Spanish bingo. In the United Kingdom, bingo is most commonly called “penny bingo”.
Bingo was first played in the late 1800s in England. The first bingo hall was opened in 1879 in London. .
Today, there are over 1,000 bingo halls across the UK. The biggest bingo operator in the UK is Mecca Gaming Group Ltd which operates over 200 venues.
In 2009, Mecca Gaming Group Ltd generated £395 million in revenue from its bingo operations.
The rules of penny bingo are the same no matter where you play in the UK. The game starts with players picking up a card from the deck and reading it aloud.
If the number on the card matches any number on one of the player’s selected numbers (called a “bingo”), that player gets to stick that card into a “bingo box” and take a turn skipping their next turn. The next player then reads out a number and if it matches one of the numbers already in the box, that number is placed on top of the stack and that player gets to skip their next turn.
If no number matches any of the numbers on your selected numbers, then you get to draw one card from the deck and place it face down on top of your stack. If this number is a “bingo”, then you collect all of your cards (including any that were placed into the “bingo box”) and put them back into the deck so that you are starting again with one card.
The aim of penny bingo is to build up as many cards as possible until you either reach or surpass 21 points – which is equivalent to winning a prize! There are several different types of prizes that can be won at penny bingo games, including cash prizes, free tickets to future games, raffles for prizes such as cars or holidays, and even free meals!
So what is Bingo called in England? In general terms, it is known as “penny bingo” or simply “bingo”. However, there are specific names for it depending on where you are located – for example, French Bingo is known as jeu de boules or pétanque en France; Italian Bingo is known as calcio da tavola or tavola gioco; Spanish Bingo is known as juego de dados o cartas.
