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Thank Italy for Pasta, Wine, and…. Bingo
When people think of Italy, they think of food, fashion, and wine. Italians really believe in enjoying life to the fullest. If you have never had real Italian pasta, you have just not eaten pasta. Eating spaghetti and cola? Now, try Pasta Bolognese with a fine Muscato De' Asti. There is no comparison. So judging by how much creations from Italy have shaped world culture, it is no surprise that "Bingo" the most popular game of chance in the world, also comes from Italy in the form of a lottery.
Five Hundred Years Ago, Between Rome and Pisa
In Italian, the concept was called "El Lotto." Lotto actually means destiny or fate. It was a popular belief that certain people were pre-ordained to win. The catch was that nobody knew who these people were. So everyone started playing the game popularly called "Lo Giuoco del Lotto." With a generation, the lottery game had swept across the land.
The Church, the State and the Lottery
Proceeds from the lottery were being used to support the civil authorities. So, of course, when the Church condemned the game and tried to ban it, certain shrewd politicians stepped in to make sure the lottery revenue was not stopped. The lottery game continued to be played at more and more locations. Even when it was deemed illegal by the official Italian government, politicians turned a blind eye to the games going on all over. Finally, in 2000 the game was legalized and today the government of Italy is one of its biggest beneficiaries.
Bingo By Another Name
The game may have been called "Lo Giuoco del Lotto," but if you got in a time machine and walked into a lotto hall in Italy 500 years ago, you would immediately recognize the game we all know has "Bingo". All the players had cards. They didn't have to purchase them like we do today. They made them at home and could put any numbers they wanted in the squares. A caller had a large sack, usually made from leather, that contained bits of stone with numbers written on each piece. He would draw a stone out of the sack and read the number. If any player had that number on his card, he would cover it up with a pebble.
The Big Bingo Winners
If the player got either a horizontal or vertical row completely covered by pebbles, they would win. Usually, the prizes were livestock such as pigs and sheep. Prizes were financed by a fee that everyone paid who wanted to play. So we may win money today rather than a pig, but otherwise the game is almost identical. Not many things haven't changed much in 500 years.
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