For over a century most Native American tribes have lived on poverty stricken reservations. Many of these large reservations are in remote areas where economic opportunity is limited. Many Indian Reservations are in remote areas and poverty is endemic. Until the 1950’s the government tried to suppress native culture and traditions. Many saw gaming as one of the only economic opportunities available to Native American Tribes. Controversy arose when some tribes put bingo halls and casinos on Native land.

Many states opposed Native American gaming but the tribes asserted sovereignty over their reservations making them immune from state laws. In 1988 Congress passed the Indian Regulatory Gaming Act which required states to negotiate with Indian tribes to forge agreements concerning Indian gaming. If a state failed to negotiate in good faith the law gave the tribes the right to sue in Federal court.

The Seminole tribe of Florida requested the state of Florida to negotiate an agreement and the state refused. The ensuing legal war resulted in a win for the Seminoles paving the way for Indian casinos. Since President Reagan signed the act revenues for tribal gaming have soared from $100 million in 1988 to $16.7 billion in 2006.

Information from the National Indian Gaming Commission states that there are approximately 400 Indian casinos in the United States. These casinos have brought in much needed revenue to formerly impoverished reservations. The casinos are popular and draw visitors from neighboring states. The Pequot tribe of Massachusetts owns Foxwoods casino the, largest in the United States.

To think that this huge industry started with a dispute over a high stakes bingo hall in Florida. The Seminole tribal chairman approved the plans for the bingo hall and approved the hall’s operation of six days a week contrary to Florida law which only allows two days a week for bingo halls to be open. The Seminole bingo hall also exceeded the $100 limit on jackpots set by the state of Florida. The sheriff of Broward County, where the Indian reservation lies harassed the bingo hall and its patrons and the tribe sued.

The ultimate result was the opening of Indian owned casinos and bingo halls nationwide. Tribes finally had money to provide basic services for tribal members and invested a great deal of money in educational facilities and other social services. The casinos provide much needed jobs on reservations where unemployment is very high. The next time you visit an Indian bingo hall or casino thank the courage of the Seminoles.

Anthony Wayne works in the marketing department of the Forex Trader Information site FX-trader in Pennsylvania. He is also editor of the Forex Network Site a network of Forex information and news sites.

People all around the world gamble, whether it’s just playing the simple weekly lottery or visiting the casino, they are all classed as gambling games. But what is the real fascination and why do so many people like to gamble there hard earned money away? We take a look at a few reasons as to why people may want to do this and find out the real attractions.

I think one of the foremost reasons is because people want to have something for nothing. If money was growing on trees I expect that trees would no longer exist as most citizens around the world would flock to them and damage them. The same thing exactly applies to gambling. You visit a casino and you play on the slot machines, you ultimately play these machines to win vast amounts of money back. In the back of your mind you know that these machines will not make you rich, because in the end they are only set up to pay out when they reach a certain level. Of course these companies have to make a healthy profit.

But where do you stop yourself? When do you tell yourself that enough is enough? That is where gambling gets a lot trickier. Most people try to convince themselves that it is just another form of entertainment, rather than to admit they are addicted. I think if a person knows that they are captivated then they have the ability to get help and stop.

Did you know the likelihood of winning the lottery or ever winning any other huge amount of money, is as likely as lightning hitting you, but still people decide to get addicted to the game, which will ultimately end up ruining there lives and anybody that is close to them.

So What Can I Do?

Well there are various methods which you can take to help yourself control the urge of gambling. As mentioned above if you are not in denial then you are definitely on the first step to recovery.

There are various classes in which you can attend, where you can meet fellow recovering gamblers, these do tend to help quite a lot. If you are not up for getting help socially then you should try to fight your own urges. By this I mean find another activity to do instead of visiting the casino etc. Take up a sport or get a hobby to take your mind off of things.

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Why is it that when someone mentions or repeats the word bingo, an image of a group of senior citizens springs to our minds? Possibly because the Gala’s attract more people over the age of 65 years and give them the opportunity to socialise outside of their homes. Furthermore, they cater for large groups of people to play together and provide refreshments making it feel like an enjoyable night out.

However, bingo was once a game played by many people of all ages back in the days of when it was relatively unheard and before it became a global activity. The game is quite different from what it was once played as and was something that not everyone was involved with. Its origins are found in Italy of 1530, whereby it was not called bingo but it was called Lo Giuco Del Lotto d’Italia, which has continued to be played on Saturdays in Italy.

As the Catholic Church was a major influence on the country, they were against any form of gambling. However, this did not stop the game from becoming widespread. The game very quickly spread out to France around 1778, whereby the rules for gambling were considerably lapsed in comparison to Italy, even though the French Church was against the game. The game was successfully received by the French citizens who helped boost the popularity of subsequent games similar to this one.

The bingo game at this point was later played over a table divided into nine vertical columns and three horizontal lines. The format is similar to the modern day 90-ball game. Each line had five numbered square and four blank squares laid out randomly. The first line was numbered 1 - 10, followed by numbers 11 - 20 on the second and this followed through each line until reaching the number 90. These had a unique configuration and were played in a similar fashion to the modern day game.

The game thrived for more than a century, before it spread across the Atlantic into the U.S by the 1920s, where it very quickly adopted its own American style. At the time the game was called beano, because players would mark their cards with beans rather than a pen when their numbers were called. This was the beginning of a new system of playing, whereby wood chips were used before. The new system consisted of drawing out the cards from a matchbox at random, calling out the numbers and placing the bean on your card.

Although the game was less pronounced, it would not be until 1929 when a man named Edwin Lowe popularised the game having randomly discovered it upon his travels. He took on board the game and shared the experience with friends and family. However, instead of shouting out beano, the word bingo came out to which the name stuck with the game. Lowe believed that the name bingo was catchier and suited the game well.

Soon Lowe had popularised the game by advertising the game and using the help of a Mathematician, Carl Leffler, he was able to randomise the numbers 900 times (causing the unfortunate demise of Lefflers mental health upon completing this task). Leffler had produced 6,000 different bingo cards, which boost its expanding popularity in as much as attracting Catholic Church officials for using the game to raise Church funds.
Subsequent years after these events saw the game grow from humble beginnings and lesser known pronouncement to a global multi-million pound industry.

Anna Stenning is knowledgeable in the world of bingo having played this in the past and researched how it became a popular gaming industry.