Bingo is Occupational Therapy

Cyntia Nogueira
For a long time, bingo was considered an illegal activity in Brazil. What image does one usually conjure up of a casino or environments involving any kind of gambling, winning and losing money? Hollywood casinos, for example, have a sinister atmosphere, with dim lighting, well-dressed and serious gentlemen, addicts and debtors. Not to mention those women in tight dresses… While waiting for the next game to begin, after buying the R$2,00 entrance ticket, this was the image that Célia Aguiar, 32, painted of the adjacent lobby. Passing the security guard and crossing the black curtain, she felt like she was living a kind of adventure. Imagine her surprise when, contrary to everything she imagined, she saw a completely illuminated environment, full of large tables, more like a club where you go on Sundays to have a beer and play the good old 'buraco' (a card game).
It's common to find regulars who don't miss a single day at bingo, those who are addicted to the game. This addiction, however, seems to have a different character. Most of those interviewed say that it's not possible to make money playing bingo, partly because the prizes aren't that high. Adalício Sales, 48 ​​years old, an administrator, is the oldest customer at the Rio Vermelho bingo hall. Adalício is well-known at the bingo hall and never misses a day; he's the first to arrive and the last to leave. For him, it's just a hobby. The most he's ever won was a prize of R$2.000,00.
Maria Estela, a 65-year-old woman, says that bingo is very good because she can't stand being at home alone in the afternoon, staring at the sofa and the furniture. Apart from her poodle couple, Estela says there isn't another living being in her house. One of the most frequent bingo players (for at least a year), Estela once won a car (a Corsa), but ended up spending it all again gambling: "I've already left more than US$11.000,00 here, but I have nothing to complain about."
The manager of the Rio Vermelho Bingo hall, Atilano Suís Moreira, states that bingo serves as a kind of therapy: “Each client here has a problem: insomnia, stress, loneliness, etc. When they come to the Bingo hall, the adrenaline rises so much that they forget everything: People end up getting to know each other and making friends.” Atilano says that the Bingo hall always tries to maintain an atmosphere of respect and security, and even has well-known clients, such as the mayor of Salvador, Antonio Imbassaí.
Despite all this clarity, certain myths still exist regarding gambling. These people generally don't like being photographed or having their image associated with gambling. One woman declined an interview because she didn't want her family to know she frequented Bingo. Estela recounts that her son initially complained: "But that was when I had a deficit in my account; now he comes here too," she explains.
Bingo is a game that depends exclusively on luck, on chance. Atilano recounts that, on Friday, July 11th, a young man hit the jackpot at 3:20 AM, when no one expected it anymore. He didn't even know he had just won R$15.000,00. "Something super difficult," considers Atilano. The most interesting thing, however, is that it was the first time he had played. Although the audience is very varied, the presence of older people is noticeable, who find in bingo a pastime for their long free hours, as Estela puts it. The danger of addiction, however, is pointed out by everyone: "I set a limit on what I can spend," assures secretary Mariangela Borges, 37 years old. Estela, on the other hand, made a point of highlighting that bingo is good for people with hypertension: "Look: my blood pressure was 15/11, after I started playing it went down to 12/8."
History of Bingo
Bingo originated in England in 1778, under the name Lotto. Over the years, it spread throughout Europe, acquiring variations and new names.
It was only in 1975, with the emergence of the Spanish system, that the spread of electronic and professional bingo began, using ninety numbers (from 01 to 90).
In 1980, Bingo finally arrived in Latin America via Peru. In Brazil, the first Electronic Bingo halls began operations in 1994, initially in São Paulo, and quickly spread throughout the country.