Bingo was once considered a game only for older ladies who needed something to do with their extra time. Though there are a few different types of bingo, the traditional version dates back to the 1500s in Italy. Originally called “Il Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia,” which loosely translates to “The clearance of the lot of Italy,” it started out slightly more like the national lotteries we see in many countries today. Bingo spread to France next and then through the rest of Europe, bingo winners learning one by one how fun the simple game really is.
Thankfully this joyful and uncomplicated game has long since stepped out of the shadows of being only for older folk. The last few years have seen something of a resurrection of bingo, with fun and brightly decorated parlors springing up all over the world. New generations have been exposed to this extravagant and more enticing version of a beloved old game and are taking to it like ducks to water.
Over the years, before and since this bingo revolution, the game has seen some truly incredible wins, jackpots of life-changing value that few people often think of as being associated with this relatively docile and placid game. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest bingo wins in the history of the game. Who knows, maybe someday your name will be among them as well!
Bingo Hall of Fame
John Orchard
Who doesn’t love a story with a happy ending? Well, John Orchard, an unassuming factory worker who took a chance on a game of bingo, found himself living in one. Playing in an online bingo parlor one day, Orchard decided to spend just 30 pence (UK currency) and see what would come of it. Little did he know that a win of 5.9 million pounds was waiting for him! Wasting no time, Orchard retired from his factory job and set about treating his loved ones the way he had always wanted to. Exciting holidays abroad were booked with haste, a new house was procured for him and his wife, and a new toy in the form of a Jaguar XF was ordered. John Orchard now lives in happy retirement at the home he purchased in Lincolnshire, England, with his wife.
Lisa Potter
In some cases, tropes like homemakers playing bingo are really entirely accurate! Lisa Potter was one such housewife who played online bingo as a bit of a diversion from her everyday routine. When she won a whopping 1.3 million pounds while engaging in her hobby, she was extremely excited about the possibility of never having to worry about her finances again. When the win came, the Potters were waiting for bad luck, not good: they had broken a mirror at home and, being slightly superstitious, could not believe that such a boon had come instead of the seven years of bad luck that they anticipated. Knowing she had to celebrate, Lisa immediately booked a holiday with her friends to commemorate the occasion.
Anita C,
What would you prefer, one huge win or two successive wins of a slightly lower value? We’d like to be happily surprised twice in a row, which is what happened to lucky winner Anita C. Anita’s case is one that leaves most with a long-lasting smile. Before her wins, Anita was on the British welfare system and in some debt to boot. When she won two bingo games within weeks of each other, each win coming in at more than 500,000 pounds, she was beyond elated that she no longer had to worry about money. Anita and her four children splashed out a little, as is proper in a situation like hers, but then wisely used some of the remaining funds to pay off all the debts that she had incurred and give herself a fresh start with a clean slate.
Christine Bradfield
Our last bingo winner was a long-time bingo fan and a regular player called Christine Bradford. Never having won anything big in the three decades she had been playing the game, Christine was over the moon when she took home a 1.1 million pound jackpot. While there was no early retirement or a new home for Christine and her family, they did book an exciting holiday for themselves and their immediate family.
Wrap Up
Playing bingo is a great way to spend your spare time and have a little fun with friends and strangers. For these winners, it was also a life-changing affair.