History of Bingo
Bingo was first created in 1530. The players at that time used beans to mark the bingo card. Due to this, the game was referred to as a ‘beano.’ Currently, players no longer use beans but litter marker pins or daubers which allows you to make ink marks on the numbers with their corresponding letters that are called.
Playing bingo comes in several variations. Some used pattern games. Others use cross out game and still others, the standard bingo game. The bingo organizers set the rules regarding how the game will be played.
You can play bingo online. A number of websites cater to bingo games on top of other betting games.
Bingo offers the players a lot of fun and excitement, not to mention wonderful prizes too. These prizes often come in the form of cash prizes. Others, offer appliances or trips abroad.
Bingo Facts
In the UK, to say that the game of bingo has a lot of following is a major understatement. According to avid bingo player Irene Ford “Bingo’s not just a game - it’s a severe concern.”
Every 2pm Friday, the halls of bingo destinations are always packed. One can actually feel the physical tension in those places. Green Mecca, one of the most visited bingo halls, earns at least a million pounds a week. Rank Group is reported to have earned £126m by July in 2008. As a whole, Britons spent more than £1bn on bingo in 2008.
Some Amazing Bingo Facts
Here are some interesting facts about bingo:
- More than 3 million regular players in UK contribute to a staggering yearly total of £1.1bn in stake money.
- Scots player are the most active with one in every five of them playing bingo regularly. In south England, the ratio is one in every 20.
- Female players dominate the game accounting for 70% of the total players.
- The average age for players is 47.
- A player usually spends £15-20 without swag.
- Studies conducted reveal that online bingo helps mental alertness by training participants to check information and recall numbers and letters.
Bingo Boosts Mental Faculties
A bingo researcher, Julie Winstone commented that “Bingo shouldn't be dismissed - as it has been in the past.” This is because researches showed that playing bingo can actually keep the mind healthy. And the older you are, the more active it makes your brain, according to researchers.
Studies showed that bingo players are faster and more precise in answering tests compared to non-bingo players. The tests they undergone measured mental speed, memory and capacity to gather input from their surroundings. No wonder, most pensioners in the UK indulge in bingo as their favorite pastime.
Bingo helps the person acquire rapid hand-eye coordination, a skill which is known to decline as a person ages. Bingo helps develop this skill as players continuously check the numbers in their bingo cards.
Julie Winstone, from the University of Southampton's Centre for Visual Cognition at the Department of Psychology conducted a study to test bingo players' mental alertness for a span of one year.
Two groups took part. The firs group was made up of around 112 people aged 18 to 40, and the second group, people in the age range between 60 and 82. Half of the groups were active in bingo and others were not.
The results of the tests showed that all bingo players were faster and more accurate than non-bingo players. In some tasks, older players did even better than their younger counterparts.
These findings showed that a person involve in regular activities that demand heightened levels of mental activity like bingo could preserve cognitive functioning even at old age. Bingo enables a person to have fun at the same hone their concentration skills which helps promote mental agility.