Bingo is a game of chance, in which the player uses a scorecard or an electronic representation thereof bearing numbers and is played by marking or covering numbers identical to numbers drawn by chance, whether manually or electronically, and won by the player who first marks or covers the "line" which is achieved when, during one game, for the first time all five numbers on one horizontal row on one scorecard are drawn; or the "house" or "bingo" is achieved when, during one game, for the first time all the fifteen numbers on one scorecard are drawn.

In some countries (Austria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland and Sweden), bingo is considered to be a specific form of lottery. As an exception, bingo in Belgium consists in a ball game where the player must lodge the ball in holes on the horizontal side of the machine and thus obtain a number of points that light up on the vertical side of the machine. Bingo can equally be a sort of table game in Belgium, in which event it can only be organised in casino facilities or after authorisation of the local authorities. In Belgium, Germany, Portugal there is also a numerus clausus (limited number) for bingo halls. Prizes are either given in kind (Denmark, Finland and the UK) and paid immediately (Sweden), or are cash prizes (Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK).

Bingo is primarily a locally based, SME-driven activity which rarely transcends national borders. The Bingo sector is estimated to employ 80,000 people across the EU and represents 0.06% of EU GDP.