A Bingo Lingo Guide 

Russkoe Loto 5875700 640

Like most industries, the gambling industry has developed a language of its own with terms that are exclusive to some forms of gambling. You only have to look at horseracing and the myriad of terms and phrases that are exclusive to this sport for an example of this. 

 Even the bookmakers have their own sign language and betting odds phrases that nobody else understands and some are similar to number phrases in bingo, but here they refer to betting odds of horses instead.  

Whatever form of gambling you choose to participate in, the chances are that you will encounter phrases that you will not understand. Many are important and well worth learning. If you are a slot player, then RTP RNG and other commonly used phrases should be researched as they can aid your gameplay.

Return To Player percentage refers to the payouts of slots, RNG stands for Random Number Generator and this is a computer microchip that produces number sequences that are translated into unbiased spins, across an online casino platform or physical slot machine. This device is even used to pick the numbers of bingo games – play now at Mr Luck.

Bingo Lingo 

Modern bingo’s roots can be traced back to an Italian lottery game that was popular in 1530. The French took on this game but made some modifications to it and they helped develop bingo, as we know it today. In fact, bingo is a close relative of Le Lotto and this was the French version of the Italian lottery game, but this version was exclusive to France. 

Bingo Spreads Its Wings 

Bingo proved popular wherever it was introduced and it eventually made its way to the UK and by the 18th century, the game had become established across the country. Bingo spread to other countries and even landed in the U.S.  Here bingo was called beano until someone accidently shouted out bingo instead of beano, when they won. Those behind the marketing of the game in America decided that this was a more sellable name for the game. Even though the UK was not a major player in the early history of bingo, it now is the main focus of bingo lingo.

Bingo 4466817 640

Online Bingo 

Online bingo has really taken off in the UK since 2003 and this has helped add to the bingo lingo that already exists. ‘Two fat ladies’, a term used in bingo regularly has become legendary for the number 88 and ‘eyes down’ and ‘full house’ are more iconic examples of lingo that is exclusive to bingo. For those new to bingo, these phrases are universally known whether you play bingo or not, but the popularity of online bingo is constantly creating new lingo that many players have to acclimatize to. 

Bingo Lingo The Future 

Like most forms of gambling, bingo is constantly changing too and these changes bring in a fresh audience with different tastes and some these newcomers think bingo lingo needs updating, but is ‘Wills and Katie’ really going to take the place of ‘Two Fat Ladies’ for the number 88.

Avatar Of Jeremy Kaplan
Written by
Jeremy Kaplan

A 50-something year old lifestyle, career, and education blogger based in Atlanta, Georgia. Years of experience in the office setting working with others and still loving it year-after-year.

View all articles