Some people are naturally talented, while others simply have the drive to boss their goals. Whatever it might be for you, it’s always impressive to see someone create a world record.
Since the Guinness World Records began back in 1955, we’ve seen everything from the weird to the wonderful, including death-defying, base-jumping feats to the most people twerking at a single location.
Bingo is a popular pastime on both sides of the pond, so we’re not surprised that there are many fun and fantastic world records for bingo-related stunts and competitions. In this article, we look at some of the most spectacular ones.
Largest Bingo Ticket/Card
Manually sorting your bingo tickets can prove challenging to even the sharpest of players. So, can you imagine trying to shuffle one of the world’s largest bingo cards?!
The record for the ‘Largest Bingo Ticket/Card’ was set in April 2019 in the USA at Gila Rivers Hotels & Casinos in Lone Butte, Arizona. The ticket measured an impressive 400 square feet, and at the same time that the record was smashed, the venue also broke the previous record for the ‘Biggest Set of Bingo Balls’!
Greatest Venue-Based Win
The record for the ‘Greatest Win at an In-House Bingo Venue’ is held by a lady called Christine Bradfield from Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.
In January 2008, Christine scooped £1,103,686 while playing the National Bingo Game at Castle Bingo in her hometown. We bet she thought she’d arrived at number 78—Heaven’s Gate!
Just days after setting the record, Christine was back at work at her job at a Texaco filling station, telling people that she’d have nothing to do if she “sat at home all day” except housework. Her manager said that she’d also be a millionaire if she “had a pound for every person who had come in to congratulate her”.
Largest Game of Bingo
Some bingo halls can fit in hundreds of players. But since social distancing, they’ve had to space out tables, add hand sanitising stations and only allow customers to sit with their bubbles. So, for the next 12 months, we doubt that anyone will manage to beat the current world record for the ‘Largest Game of Bingo’!
The record dates back to 2006, when 70,080 people got together in Bogota, Colombia, to play one massive bingo game. We wonder what the chances of winning would have been there!
Largest Game of Bingo Online
Luckily, people who play online bingo, like our bosses here at Gala Bingo, don’t have to worry about social distancing. However, it would be pretty crazy if over 400,000 players all visited one of our bingo rooms at the same time!
Members of Japan’s Cola-Cola Park in Tokyo managed not to crash the internet when they hopped online to create the world record for the ‘Largest Online Bingo Game’ in 2010, with a whopping 493,824 people taking part!
Largest Bingo Drum
Bingo drums are rarely seen in bingo halls these days as electronic systems tend to do the job instead. However, XFLAG Studio in Japan didn’t care about the humble tombola going out of fashion when it set a world record for the ‘Largest Bingo Drum’ in December 2017.
The drum was over three metres wide, just over three metres in diameter, and was used for a special event called Monst Bingo.
Photos of the record being set show the person turning the drum standing on a high stage just so they could actually reach the handle!
Longest Time to Balance a Basket of Bingo Balls
You’d have to keep very still if you wanted to beat Doug McManaman’s world record for the ‘Longest Time to Balance a Basket of Bingo Balls’.
Doug, who also happens to be a bingo fanatic from Canada, managed to balance a basket of bingo balls on a pole for 1 minute and 19.4 seconds back in 2011.
Air Guitar Record (Broken by Bingo Players)
Bingo players of all ages love to have a laugh, and they can also surprise us with their hidden talents.
One such group of individuals from California proved this point when they got together at the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll Bingo festival in Highland to break the previous record for the ‘Largest Air Guitar Ensemble’.
It’s one of the most attempted world records in history, and it’s already been smashed ten times. However, the Californian group have yet to be beaten for their 2,377 participants who rocked out to songs including ‘Crazy Train’
Gala Bingo online games
Enjoyed finding out about some of the craziest and most spectacular bingo world records? Maybe our article has even inspired you to try and create a world record of your own…