What is bingo?

Bingo is a kind of gambling game. Its origin is however, unknown. The players are given cards or tickets which contain numbers in boxes. In such a game, when played manually, someone picks up balls which are numbered and the players mark off the corresponding numbers on their cards or tickets in order to achieve a winning combination. Bingo, when played electronically, the numbered balls are moved and then picked automatically.

There are two variations in the game of bingo:
a) 75 ball bingo
b) 90 ball bingo

75 ball bingo: Mostly played in the United States, the bingo ticket comprises of twenty-five boxes in all. The boxes are arranged with five boxes in one row and one column. Hence the bingo ticket is in the shape of a square.

In a 75 ball bingo game, 75 balls in all are called in five columns of 15 numbers each. Each of the five columns represents five letters of the word ‘bingo’. Numbers from 1-75 are distributed on the ticket. The objective of any kind of bingo game is to match the numbers which are called and they are stroked off accordingly, in a specific pattern. If the pattern matches with the one specified for the game, the person wins.

90 ball bingo: Mostly played in the UK and some parts of Australia, the bingo ticket here comprises of three rows and nine columns. The tickets are sold in cards with six such tickets. Numbers from 1-90 are distributed on the ticket. Each of the 90 ball bingo games provide three chances of winning; a single line plus two and three horizontal lines which bring a full-house. The key difference between 75 and 90 ball bingo is that 90 ball bingo is not letter specific and has three winners in each single game.