The tombola table is a British classic, a national institution. And part of what makes it so beloved is that the prizes are, frankly, a lottery. A novelty pen that doesn’t work. A pack of nappies. A cuddly toy. A jar of chutney with a worryingly old best-before date. Whether at your local summer fair or a bingo hall, there’s always a collection of random items (this is key) atop a table with numbered tickets sellotaped to each.
A thread on Reddit recently asked people to share their best and worst tombola wins, and some of the responses were perfect.
For every person who walked away with a decent bottle of wine or a voucher, there were plenty more winning something they’d never asked for. (A tin of sardines, anyone?) The beauty of it, and this is why we think the tombola endures, is that nobody really minds what they win. You’re not there for the prize. You’re there for the moment before the win.
That anticipation is its own reward. Pull a winning ticket and something happens, however briefly, that has nothing to do with what’s waiting on the table. It’s the taking part that keeps people buying those tickets.
The same feeling, significantly better prizes
If that sounds familiar, it should. That same charge of anticipation is exactly what makes bingo so popular. The moment before 1TG – 2TG – full house, that’s the thing. It’s why bingo sites have loyal players who come back not just for the winnings, but for the love of playing.
tombola understands this better than most. Unlike many bingo sites which run on shared networks with the same games appearing across dozens of brands, tombola builds everything in-house in Sunderland. Every game is exclusive meaning you won’t find them on any other site. That independence is what gives the site its community-led experience where the focus is on playing.
With around 400,000 players a month, over £13 million won daily, and “a bingo winner every five seconds”, the numbers speak for themselves.
tombola is a three times WhichBingo Awards winner, taking home the crown in 2024 for Best Customer Service, Best Social Media in 2019, and Best Socially Responsible Operator 2019.
Bingo tickets start at the fantastically-low 1p. You can also find a great selection of instant win arcade games on the site to play from only 5p, and if this is your preference, sister site tombola arcade is worth a spin. If you’re looking for licensed games like Deal or No Deal and Monopoly, tombola does these too but in their own unique way with bingo games like Deal or No Deal bingo and Monopoly Full House that you can’t find anywhere else.
Nine years in the jungle
tombola has been the official sponsor of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! for nine years which is one of the longest-running TV sponsorships in the gambling space. If you watched the show, you’ll remember some of the brand’s iconic ads, including the CGI jungle critters.
In 2025, tombola switched the idents up from bugs to everyday scenarios that make you wanna shout “Get me out of here!”. Like the woman queuing behind a guy taking his time trying cheese, the woman stuck in the loft shouting “Ian!”, the guy who gets trapped in his porch when the door shuts behind him. tombola offers fun at your fingertips, even in life’s mundane moments!
During the series, tombola runs a £20,000 full house prize every night in bingo90, with tickets from just 10p. But perhaps the best illustration of what the sponsorship actually means in practice is ‘ravenmoonstone’ — a 69-year-old player from Fleetwood who spotted a tombola offer in the I’m a Celebrity app during the very first ad break of the 2024 series. She signed up, claimed a free £5 offer, and won £10,000 in just 11 minutes. She and her husband of 50 years are spending some of it on a long-planned trip to Harry Potter World.
Play tombola Today
tombola is free to join, and you can play a range of games within minutes after a smooth sign-up process. Unlike other operators, there’s no wagering requirements meaning everything you win is yours to keep and withdraw. There’s also a free daily game called Free for All where you can win daily bonuses and play for weekly prizes up to £1,000 cash.
There’s always something on, from bingo Lite, starting from just 2p, and the popular bingo 75 Lines where there’s 5 different Line prizes in every game. There are unique bingo games like Pulse, penny games like Paper, and progressive jackpots in bingo90. Plenty to enjoy! Plus, there’s daily bingo promotions going on giving you the chance to win those big prizes.
There’s a downloadable app on both iOS and Android for bingo-on-the-go, 24/7 customer support, and lots of chat vibes in the rooms.
If you’re new to online bingo and want to understand how welcome offers work before you dive in, our guides to bingo bonuses and no wagering offers explain what to look for.
And if tombola’s arcade games have given you a taste for slots, our free spins and slot sites pages are worth bookmarking for future reference.
But for now, it’s time for some tombola.
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