tombola (bingo company)

Tombola is a British gambling company founded in 2006. It operates the largest online bingo website in Europe. The business is split into two divisions, UK and International. UK operations are conducted from its headquarters in Sunderland, while its International business operates from its satellite office in Gibraltar. In January 2022, Tombola was acquired by Flutter Entertainment for £402m.[2]

Tombola
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryGambling
Founded2006
Headquarters
Sunderland, England, UK
Areas served
UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands
Key people
Ben Reilly
(Managing Director),
James Beard
(Chief Operating Officer)
ProductsOnline bingo
Number of employees
1,000
ParentFlutter Entertainment
Websitetombola.co.uk[1]

Products

The company produces original bingo software and games, created by an in-house development team,[3] and is one of the largest employers of game and web developers in the North East of England.[4]

The Tombola.co.uk and .com domains are not available to customers outside of the UK.[5] Instead, players from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden and Netherlands must access the website through their own national domains. A bingo app is available for iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire.[6][7]

History

As a registered company, Tombola was established in 1999 by Phil Cronin.[8] He had previously worked for his family's business Edward Thompson printers, until 1995. Under the Edward Thompson company name, the Cronin family have provided printed paper bingo tickets to bingo halls since the 1960s.[9]

Tombola 'soft launched' in December 2005 using the Sun Newspaper as a brand, but retaining control of the business. The official launch went ahead in January 2006 as SunBingo. The Sun newspaper provided marketing and branding while Tombola provided the website site, the games, staff, and technical infrastructure. This continued until August 2008 when Tombola became independent from the Sun, continuing on as Tombola, with all the staff being retained at that time. SunBingo continued with the Sun using JackpotJoy software as all Tombola games had been produced in-house by Tombola technicians and continue to do so. The Sun hired their own chat moderating staff as all chat moderation staff working until that time remained with Tombola.

In November 2011, Cronin was awarded Durham & Wearside Business Executive of the Year.[10]

Since 2019, Tombola House is on Low Street, on the River Wear, half a mile from the center of Sunderland.[11][12][13]

In January 2022, Flutter Entertainment completed the acquisition of Tombola and Cronin stepped down as CEO and sole owner.[14]

Gaming licences
  • In November 2011, Tombola was licensed in Italy.[15]
  • In June 2012, Tombola was licensed in Spain.[15]
  • In March 2014, Tombola was licensed in the UK.
  • In February 2018, Tombola was licensed in Portugal.
  • In January 2019, Tombola was licensed in Denmark.
  • In March 2019, Tombola was licensed in Sweden.
  • In October 2021, Tombola was licensed in Netherlands.

Awards

Tombola has won twenty-seven awards[16] since re-launching in 2008:[17]

  • 2009: Most Online Bingo Prizes Won,[18] Best Chat Host Team award[18]
  • 2010: EGR Awards Online Bingo Operator of the Year,[18] Online Bingo Awards Online Bingo Operator of the Year,[19] Most Popular Online Bingo Site,[20] Most Online Bingo Prizes Won,[20] Best Online Game Innovation.[20]
  • 2011: Most Popular Online Bingo Site,[21] Best Chat Host Team[21]
  • 2012: Best Bingo Chat Hosts of 2012,[22] Bingo Operator of the Year 2012,[23] Best Overall Online Bingo Operator,[24] Best Online Bingo TV Commercial[25]
  • 2013: Bingo Operator of the Year 2013,[26] Socially Responsible Operator[26]
  • 2014: Bingo Operator of the Year[27]
  • 2015: Customer Services Operator,[28] Socially Responsible Operator[29]
  • 2016: Bingo Operator of the Year[30]
  • 2017: Socially Responsible Operator,[31] Bingo Operator of the Year[32]
  • 2018: Bingo Operator of the Year,[33] Marketing Campaign[34]
  • 2019: Socially Responsible Operator,[35] Bingo Operator of the Year,[36] In-House Product[37]
  • 2021: Safer Gambling Operator[38]

Sponsorship

In November 2009, Tombola began sponsoring, for three years, ITV soap opera Emmerdale[39] in a deal that ran until March 2012.[40][41][42][43]

In April 2010, Tombola began sponsoring Sunderland AFC for the 2010/11 and 2011/12 English Premier League seasons.[44]

In September 2014, Tombola began sponsoring the ITV daytime television show, Loose Women.[45]

Since November 2017, Tombola sponsors I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[46][47][48][49]

Charity and community work

In 2012, Tombola became the main sponsors of Sunderland AFC Keroche, an African football club supported by Sunderland AFC fans in England. Tombola paid for fifteen boxes of football kits to be shipped to Africa for the team.[50]

In July 2014, Tombola launched the Tombola Academy.[51]

References
  1. "www.tombola.com Redirects to www.tombola.co.uk". archive.today. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  2. "Sunderland online bingo firm Tombola are top of their game". The Journal. Trinity Mirror North East. 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  3. "Oh My Bingo – Review and Bonus from OhMyBingo". Oh My Bingo. 14 November 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  4. "Numbers up? Sunderland bingo giant teams up with college to train apprentice game developers". Sunderland Echo. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 16 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  5. "access denied". tombolaarcade.co.uk. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  6. "Download tombola's free bingo app". tombola.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  7. "tombola bingo – UK Bingo Games - Apps". Google Play. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  8. "Sunderland Bingo tycoon scoops £ 400m jackpot: Tombola founder Phil Cronin sells UK's largest online bingo site to Paddy Power". 18 November 2021.
  9. "About (Edward Thompson)". Edward Thompson. Edward Thompson (Printers) Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  10. "Durham & Wearside Business Executive of the Year 2011". The Journal. Trinity Mirror North East. 23 November 2011. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  11. "Tombola House". Ryder Architecture. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  12. "Tombola House". Archello. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  13. Priest, Isabelle (3 December 2019). "Respect for Victorian grain defines new office by Ryder Architecture". RIBA Journal. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  14. "Flutter completes Tombola acquisition". InterGame. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  15. "Tombola Coining It In". Bingo Supermarket. Bingo Supermarket Ltd. 24 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  16. "Online Bingo Awards". tombola.co.uk. tombola Ltd. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  17. "Tombola.co.uk crowned UK's top online bingo site". iGaming Business. 25 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  18. "2009 Player's Choice Awards". Bingo Port. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  19. "My Bingo Bonus". My Bingo Bonus. Triple Hat Media Ltd. 14 June 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  20. "2010 Players' Choice Awards". Bingo Port. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  21. "2011 BingoPort.co.uk Players' Choice Awards". Bingo Port. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  22. "2012 Bingoport.co.uk Players' Choice Awards". Bingo Port. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  23. "tombola voted Bingo Operator of the Year by eGR". Which Bingo. 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  24. "2012 Bingoport.co.uk Players' Choice Awards". Bingo Port. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  25. "2012 Bingoport.co.uk Players' Choice Awards". Bingo Port. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  26. "eGR Operator Awards 2013 Winners". EGR Magazine. EGR Awards 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  27. "EGR Awards 2014 – Winners Review". SBC News. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  28. "eGR Operator Awards 2015 – Bingo Winners". BallsUp Bingo. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  29. "eGR Operator Awards 2015 – Bingo Winners". BallsUp Bingo. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  30. "2016 EGR Operator Awards Winners List". Hityah. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  31. "EGR Operator Awards Winners 2017". IHRE Consulting. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  32. "EGR Operator Awards Winners 2017". IHRE Consulting. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  33. "EGR Operator Awards 2018". No Wagering. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  34. "EGR Operator Awards 2018". No Wagering. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  35. "EGR Operator Awards 2019". Online Bingo. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  36. "EGR Operator Awards 2019". Online Bingo. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  37. "tombola's online bingo awards". Tombola.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  38. "Winners of 2021 EGR Operator Awards". Online Bingo. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  39. "Bingo website Tombola to sponsor Emmerdale". MediaWeek. Haymarket Media Group Ltd. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  40. "Tombola to sponsor I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!". 5 Star iGaming Media Marketing. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  41. Green, Kris (6 October 2009). "Tombola signs 'Emmerdale' sponsorship deal". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  42. Green, Kris (14 July 2009). "Littlewoods named as new 'Emmerdale' sponsor". Digital Spy. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  43. Week, Marketing (7 October 2009). "Tombola to sponsor Emmerdale". Marketing Week. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  44. "SAFC sign up tombola". Sunderland Echo. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  45. "Tombola revealed as new sponsor of Loose Women". The Drum. Carnyx Group Limited. 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  46. Watson, Imogen (6 February 2019). "I'm a Celebrity sponsor Tombola hit with gambling ad ban". The Drum. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  47. Luke, Emma (21 October 2022). "Something's bugging our Marketing Team". Tombola Careers Blog. tombola.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  48. Ford, Coreena (4 October 2017). "Sunderland firm tombola to sponsor I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  49. "I'm A Celebrity – Official Promotions". tombola arcade. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  50. "EPL side officially sets foot in Naivasha". Futaa.com. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  51. "Online bingo firm Tombola sets up talent academy in Sunderland". Sunderland Echo. Johnston Publishing Ltd. 17 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
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