If you have played bingo before, you will be familiar with the increased heart rate when you are closing in on the house. Sitting on 1tg waiting for 87 to be called is thrilling. And, when it finally gets called, there is nothing as exciting as seeing your name flash on the screen – or yelling house in a bingo hall.
And while most players are more than content with taking home a few hundred or a few thousand (and why wouldn’t you be!). Some bingo winners took home a few million. The biggest bingo wins in the last few years have been won with online bingo sites that offer free bingo games like Jackpotjoy and in land-based venues. Increasingly, though, people love online bingo.
Online bingo is cheaper and easier for many players, and it can even be played on a mobile phone via an app – what could be better than that? Well, being one of the big winners below!
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Anita Campbell
Talk about having lady luck on your side; while Anita didn’t scoop a million in one sitting, she won two jackpots that add up to a little over a million. The first big win came while playing online bingo one evening – and she won a huge £597,000.
For most people, that is a fantastic win, but Anita got lucky again just ten days later and scooped another £552,000! While it wasn’t a single big win, being lucky enough to win two huge and a million prizes in just ten days deserves a mention.
John Orchard
John’s phenomenal win is the most significant bingo win in history, and it was a shocking £5.9 million! John was enjoying his favourite Batman bingo game and placed a 30p ticket price. Only to see that 30p turned into £5.9 million!
What makes this win even cooler is that, unlike many people, John played it cool, and even his wife didn’t find out until some hours later when the company that takes care of big winners was in touch to arrange the transfer of the funds.
John, at the time of his win, was a 60-year-old grandad who worked in the local job centre – after his big win, he enjoyed the finer things in life and got a Jaguar, gave gifts to his friends and family, and went on a long holiday.
Lisa Potter
More commonly known as Lise P, scooped a very nice £1.3 million jackpot in 2012. The best bit about Lisa’s win is that she had rarely played bingo, and in fact, during an interview after she won, Lisa said she wasn’t sure how to play and ‘wasn’t sure what she was doing;’. This shows that even first-time players have a chance to win the big bucks!
Lisa said that she didn’t play initially, but because her husband was occupied watching football (Euro 2021), she wanted something to do. After putting a £5 deposit into her account, in just 20 minutes, she landed a progressive jackpot.
Georgios M
Many of the biggest winners don’t mind being in the spotlight as their life changes, but this story is a little different. Georgios M won a massive £5.1 million and decided to stay anonymous.
There is very little known about Georgios M, aside from the fact he was 36 when the win happened in 2009 and that he may have been a businessman.
Soraya Lowell
Soraya had been a regular bingo player, and after finishing her week as a clear in Lanarkshire – she would head to her much-loved bingo hall with her neighbor Agnes. What makes this story heartwarming is that since the pair had always been to the bingo together and always shared their winnings, this huge £1.2 million win didn’t change it.
And, perhaps unlike many people who had a cool half a million (after the split) in their banks, Soraya kept her job as a cleaner because she loved the people she worked with so much.
Christine Bradfield
When Christine first won her mammoth £1.1 million, she was the record holder for the biggest win until Soraya (mentioned above) won her jackpot, which was a bit bigger. Christine had been a long-time player and loved to play with her sister-in-law, Lorraine.
After being bingo partners for over ten years, they often shared their winnings, and just like Soraya, Christine shared some of her winnings with her bingo partner! The pair spent £16 on their bingo tickets that day, and just like Soraya again, Christine kept her job after her win.
If there is anything to be learned from these bingo winners, it is that it doesn’t matter if it is your first time playing using free bingo games, or you have been playing for years – the jackpot could be yours at any time!
