Bingo Headlines of the World

Bingo is one of the most popular games out there, and it’s estimated that more than 300 million people worldwide who are bingo players. Gone are the days where bingo clubs were thought of as a pastime reserved for the bored and elderly: Now, we’ve got players from all walks of life. But sometimes what happens at the bingo club stays at the bingo club – and other times it ends up right on the news headlines for everyone to see. Here are some of the weirdest Bingo-related headlines of the world that we could track down.

Mecca Bingo has cheeky new name for number 69 in bid to appeal to young players

The Mirror | 31 December 2016

In an attempt to get younger players interested in the game of bingo, Mecca Bingo in the UK has decided to revamp their list of bingo calls from the ground up with some more funky-sounding, modernized and slightly over-the-top names. Just some of the bingo calls that have been changed include 8, which has been changed to Tinder Date; 17, which is now known as Selfie Queen and 69 has turned into Netflix and Chill. We’re not sure how many of the more advanced players from the bingo club caught that reference – if you’re still in the dark about it yourself, here’s a Wiki page of Netflix & Chill that explains it.

People who play bingo ‘do better in mental tests’

The Independent | July 12, 2002

For this article in The Independent, psychologist and researcher Julie Winstone from the University of Southampton conducted a series of intensive tests that proved that people who play bingo will perform better in certain mental tests that look at your cognitive abilities. The same study also found that the older, more experienced players performed better in many of these tests than the younger, greener players. We already know through general studies that your overall mental health and recall will be improved by keeping your brain sharp – and it even decreases your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders.

Bingo hall carries on with game despite pensioner DYING of heart attack

The Daily Mail | May 23, 2014

Somewhere in early-2014, the Daily Mail reported in a rather horrified tone that a bingo hall had carried on with their bingo game after an unnamed 87 year old woman died at the bingo game from a suspected heart attack – do you think the game should have been put to a stop? The weird thing is not the article itself, it’s the fact that it’s not the only time this has happened: The Telegraph also reported that Gala bingo club (from the UK) came under attack for saying that the game has to continue – even if a player dies during the game – after a similar occurrence where a player keeled over and died during a game of bingo.

Game of Thrones Season 7 Bingo Cards

Vox

Bingo has also been adapted by many people into something they can play at home while they are watching their favourite movie or TV shows – though instead of filling up the traditional bingo card, instead you have special bingo calls that are related to the show. (Yes, this can also be turned into some variety of drinking game, but that doesn’t mean that it should…) Here, on Vox, is a collection of Game of Thrones related bingo cards. If you want to check out some more of these, here are some on Buzzfeed and Cracked.

Flasher got naked at Bingo hall

The Argus

Doesn’t playing bingo just want to make you get naked? No? Well, nudity seems to be a very common occurrence at bingo halls – though we’re really not sure why. This story from The Argus describes a man named Christopher Way who ran naked through a bingo club in Worthing, UK; he was fined forty pounds for this, and forced to pay a hundred-and-fifteen pounds in costs – we’re assuming to pay for some therapy for the spectators.

This wouldn’t be as interesting if it only happened once. Here’s another article, this time from the Metro in December 2013. The headline literally speaks for itself:

Drunk man with YOLO tattoo ran naked through Bingo hall with pants down yelling ‘bingo!’

We have some questions about this: Why was he naked, and did he actually have bingo?

If you want to get into the game yourself, you can check out BingoFind to play a bingo game online. Bingo Game Online.