Italy Tombola is a traditional game played throughout
Italy. Neapolitan tombola—today's most popular version—is thought to have originated in 1734 following the new
king's decision to tax winnings of the similar game
Lotto, then widely-played throughout
Naples. Today, tombola is mostly played during
Christmas and
New Year's Eve, but may also be played during family gatherings such as birthday parties. It is similar to the British version of
bingo, but generally less formal, The game is the origin of the local expression "to be more lost than a
cuy in a
tómbola" ().
Philippines In the
Philippines, it is not called a
"tombola", but instead it is known as a
"tambiolo" (
Filipino/) or sometimes
"tambola". It is what one calls the revolving
lottery drum where numbered
raffle tickets or balls are placed as the
tambiolo spins or is manually spun and then, the winning number/s are drawn from it. It is usually used to play
jueteng or
wahoy or other kinds of raffle games to show to viewers that the lottery game draws randomly to choose a winner. The
numbers game itself is called
jueteng or
wahoy/wahuy and has been illegal since 1907 in the Philippines during
American colonial rule. Both
jueteng or
wahoy/wahuy are of
Hokkien Chinese origin, but the practice of using a revolving
tambiolo drum ultimately comes from
tómbola through
Spanish, but with an
-olo Italian suffix. The game of
jueteng using a
tambiolo drum is most popular throughout
Luzon, but
wahuy is also played in
Sulu. Despite being illegal, the game of
jueteng or wahoy is still practiced illegally in secret, which to combat it, the government runs government-regulated and funded lotteries on television and online called "
Lotto" under
PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office), which also sometimes uses a
tambiolo for some of their
raffle games.
Spain or
tómbola establishment in a trade fair stall in
Madrid,
Spain, in which prizes are raffled using a system similar to
bingo. In
Spain, it is known in
Spanish as
"tómbola", which is from . It is typically a public
raffle of various objects, generally as a
fair carnival game business or for charitable purposes. It's also what one calls the position or place where a raffle is held and is also what one calls the revolving lottery drum where raffle tickets are drawn from. The carnival game consists of having all the numbers on a previously distributed card or
ballot that the clerk, or fairgoer, calls out as a
bingo. Then, if it turns out that they have all the numbers on their ticket, the player is rewarded with a prize, which usually ranges, depending on the number of accumulations of points, from stuffed animals to household objects, bicycles, small appliances and various toys.
United Kingdom In the
United Kingdom, a tombola is a form of
raffle in which prizes are pre-assigned to winning tickets. Typically numbered raffle tickets are used, with prizes allocated to all those ending in a particular digit (traditionally a five or a zero). Players pay for a ticket, which they then draw at random from a hat or tombola drum, and can instantly see whether they have won a prize. Tombolas are popular at events such as
village fêtes and coffee mornings, when it is expected that not all the players will be present at the end of the event.
United States In the United States,
fair style
fundraisers may have booths with prizes that can be won in a manner similar to UK tombola. Players pay to select a folded paper from a container, and unfold it to determine if—and perhaps what—they have won. Typically, winning tickets will be identified by the ending digits of the number on the paper (for instance, –00). Prizes may be distributed by letting the player make a selection or by proactively marking prizes with the winning numbers.
Uruguay In
Uruguay, there is also a public
raffle lottery called
"La Tómbola" sold massively to the public and is regulated by the
Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) through the Dirección Nacional de Loterías y Quinielas (National Directorate of Lotteries and Pools) (DNLQ). == References ==