Playing Bingo is a popular past time in Ireland and in many other parts of our modern world. In Newmarket-on-Fergus Community Centre it has proved to be a very successful means of creating an income to support the running of the facility.
Bingo is a game of chance in which each player matches numbers pre-printed in different arrangements on sheets or cards with the numbers the game host draws at random. The player marks the selected numbers with a pen. When a player finds the selected numbers are arranged on their card in a row, they call out "Bingo!" to alert all participants to a winning line, which prompts the game host or an assistant to examine the card for verification of the win. The game continues until a 'Full House' is called where all numbers on the card are covered. After a winner is declared with a full house the game host begins a new round of play. Part of the nights entertainment is to play for the 'Jackpot' which in our bingo game starts at €1,500.00 and increases by €50.00 each week when it is not won, up to a maximum of €10,000.00.
Over recent years we have donated the proceeds of a selected bingo night to various charities to give back to the community what we receive from the community. These organisations include St. Caimin's Transition Year, Pieta House, The Handball Club, Slainte an Chlair, Pakie Ryan Foundation and The GAA Newmarket-on-Fergus.
Games similar to bingo are thought to have begun in Italy around 1530 where an Italian lottery called "Lo Giuoco del Lotto D'Italia," was played. From Italy the game was introduced to France in the late 1770s, where it was called "Le Lotto", a game played among wealthy Frenchmen. The Germans also played a version of the game in the 1800s, but they used it as a child's game to help students learn math, spelling and history. When the game reached North America in 1929, it became known as "beano". It was first played at a carnival near Atlanta, Georgia where numbers were covered by beans. New York toy salesman Edwin S. Lowe, a polish immigrant, renamed it "bingo" after he overheard someone accidentally yell "bingo" instead of "beano." He enhanced the game and patented it, making it popular all over America and then spreading to the rest of the modern world.
Bingo comes under legal legislation as a 'lottery' and each year the board has to apply for a lottery license in order to run bingo. This involves an inspection by the fire officer who will list any defects in our facility which may require updating or adjustment. When the fire officer is happy with his inspection he will inform our solicitor who will take the application to the district court in Ennis and hopefully the judge will grant us a lottery license for the following year.

Edwin Bailey