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

Despite being invented within the 15th century it was not extremely popular until the 19th century. During this time it spread globally and had a meteoric rise in the United States. 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 across the world in the 1970s and 1980s but it developed a bad image as being a game that only the elderly played.

Fast forward to the new millennium and online bingo has been introduced. The on-line bingo game plays exactly the same as the land based bingo game. The only difference is that the numbers appear on your screen rather than having to be crossed out from your bingo card by hand.

The online 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 start 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. In place of a real-life person calling out the number, the number flashes up on your screen and homesite is crossed of your bingo card.

There are actually various ways to win at online bingo, the same as real-life bingo. If you get 5 boxes in a row, in a column or across diagonally you win a prize. According to 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 larger stakes you play the bigger prize you may win.

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

To be able to get the most out of the game it is important that you learn the many jargon and terminology. You can find various names that players use as a representation for each bingo number. There's also various short hand chat phrases that players use to communicate within the chat box. Usually the bingo sites provide players with a glossary of commonly used terms so that you can learn them and understand what's going on in the chat box.

Players looking to transition in to the world of online bingo should look out for several 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 increase the chances that you win some money. Some sites offer free bingo for real money without having to deposit. We strongly suggest you make use of these deals if you're new to bingo. They make it possible for you to play bingo for real money and do not require you to deposit to play.