Skydivers play blackjack at 13,000ft while plunging towards Earth at 120mph

Raising the stakes to unprecedented heights, a team of professional skydivers have officially played the world’s first ever game of Blackjack during a 120mph freefall from 13,000 feet.

Armed with specially designed magnetic cards and chips, four experienced skydivers, all former members of the Red Devils free fall parachute display team, completed a full hand of blackjack mid-air before deploying their parachutes less than a minute later.

The high-flying stunt was commissioned by Ladbrokes to celebrate the launch of Speed Blackjack, a new game designed to deliver a faster-paced blackjack experience.

After exiting the aircraft, human table Ally Milne was joined by Blackjack dealer Andy Torbet complete with a traditional dealer’s outfit — who dealt a rapid-fire round to players Ray Armstrong and Robbie Powell all while rushing toward the Earth at 120mph. With roughly 45 seconds of freefall before chute deployment, precision was essential. Incredibly, Ray Armstrong won with a score of 20 just seconds before the jumpers reached deployment height and had to yank their parachutes.

The complex aerial stunt was overseen by Allan Hewitt, whose credits include work on the James Bond and Batman franchises, while the team have all worked with Tom Cruise on the Mission: Impossible series.

Nicola McGeady, Head of PR at Ladbrokes said: “We’ve seen blackjack played online, in casinos, and living rooms, but never while falling through the sky at 120mph. Speed Blackjack is all about quick-fire decision making, so we wanted to put it to the ultimate test. Thankfully the team managed to complete a hand before gravity called time on the game.”

Allan Hewitt, the skydiving coordinator said: “I’ve coordinated stunts for James Bond and Mission: Impossible, but managing a game of Blackjack at 120 mph free fall was definitely a unique challenge. You’re dealing with extreme drag, tight timing, and strict safety margins. Every move had to be calculated down to the second, but the team executed the hand with precision — it was high-altitude magic.”