bingo can be traced back to lottery type games that were popular in the late 18th and early 19th century in the UK. Often early lottery games that bore several similarities to bingo were organised by women and it was women who played them. The earliest record of such a game is from 1716. In fact, this was an order issued by the Lord Mayor of London that made it illegal for women who sold wares from barrows from gambling with dice; in response they replaced the dice with numbered wheels.

A national lottery was introduced in the UK in 1710. The objective was to raise money for the government and the prizes offered were substantial, perhaps £20,000 and more. Generally these prizes were shared between several people, many of whom were poor. Winning the lottery was seen as a passport from poverty to a comfortable life. However, lottery tickets were far from cheap; they could cost ten guineas, which was well out of the reach of the poorer classes, so people bought shares in a single ticket with shares costing twelve shillings and sixpence, and the shares were further subdivided.

Unofficial illegal lotteries also became popular and half-penny lotteries were particularly popular amongst women. There were many arrests and there are records of one occasion where 300 women were caught playing a lottery game and were subsequently arrested. This did little to halt the activities and in 1808 it was estimated that around £500,000 a year was gambled on lotteries.

Although there are obvious parallels between the demographic of modern bingo players and players of the early lotteries, in that the majority of participants are women, it was not until some time later that the modern version of the game became established after 1880 when it was brought to the UK from Malta by the British Navy. It became a regular on-board pastime in the British fleet and was played by seamen and officers and it was not long before it became a popular parlour game.