Bingo first appeared in the form of a gambling game in the 1400s. The name comes from the French word “bingo,” which means “to strike with a stick.” Bingo was originally played with a wooden ball and called “ballo-bingo.” In the 1800s, bingo became popular in Britain as a leisure activity. In 1876, Charles Darrow and Joseph Knox created a game called “bingo” that used small cardboard cards with numbers on them.
The first modern bingo hall opened in London in 1879. The first U.S. bingo association was formed in 1902.
