tombola
tombola is an online bingo site operated by Tombola (International) Plc, one of the UK's longest-running bingo operators with UKGC licensing dating back to November 2014. The operator was hit with a £184,500 financial penalty in July 2025 for social responsibility failures, which has pulled its trust grade down to D despite an otherwise established track record.
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About
tombola is a UK-focused online bingo site that's been operating under UKGC licence since November 2014. The site describes itself as Britain's biggest bingo community, and its website claims to offer exclusive in-house bingo games, low-stake play from 1p, and 24/7 chat rooms. Those are marketing claims from tombola's own site, not independently verified.
The site is operated by Tombola (International) Plc, which holds three active UKGC licences covering bingo, casino, and general betting on virtual events. It's registered with IBAS for alternative dispute resolution, giving players a formal route to escalate complaints the operator can't resolve. Its domain has been registered since 1999 and carries an A+ SSL rating, so the technical foundations are solid.
Where the picture changes is on the regulatory side. In July 2025, the Gambling Commission found Tombola (International) Plc had breached social responsibility code provisions around direct electronic consent and self-exclusion, resulting in a £184,500 penalty. The Commission noted the failings were isolated and that the operator cooperated and took immediate remedial action, but it's still a black mark on a record stretching back over a decade.
Features & Offerings
Key Offerings
- Bingo
Main Features
- 24/7 Chat Rooms
- Low-stake games from 1p
- Exclusive in-house games
- Gold Standard Safer Gambling accreditation
Can You Trust tombola?
Positive Signals
- UKGC licensed since November 2014 across bingo, casino, and virtual betting
- A+ SSL certificate issued by DigiCert with TLS 1.3 support
- Domain registered since 1999 showing a long operational history
- IBAS registered for independent dispute resolution
- Full DNS email authentication in place: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
Concerns
- £184,500 financial penalty in July 2025 for social responsibility breaches
- Operator trust grade of D (score 53) due to regulatory action
- Enforcement breaches relate to self-exclusion and consent failures, areas directly affecting player protection
What Users Say
tombola holds a Trustpilot score of 3.7 out of 5 from 12,587 reviews, placing it in the average-to-good range for online bingo sites. That's a reasonable volume of reviews for a bingo-focused brand, suggesting an active user base.
Common Themes
No topic breakdown is available in the current data, so specific user themes can't be reported here.
Regulatory Context
The July 2025 enforcement action covered failures around self-exclusion handling. If customer reviews mention difficulties withdrawing from the site or self-exclusion not being honoured, those complaints would align directly with what the Gambling Commission found. Without topic-level review data, that connection can't be confirmed, but it's worth checking recent reviews if this is a concern.
Source: Trustpilot
UKGC Licence Status
Tombola (International) Plc holds three active UKGC licences. The Bingo licence (granted November 2014) covers the site's core online bingo offering. The Casino licence (also granted November 2014) permits online slots and table games. A General Betting Standard licence for virtual events was added in July 2025, extending the operator's permissions to betting on virtual sporting events. All three licences are currently active with no expiry dates recorded.
tombola is registered with IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service) for alternative dispute resolution. If you have an unresolved complaint with the operator, IBAS provides a free and impartial service to adjudicate disputes between players and licensed gambling operators.
Regulatory Actions
On 21 July 2025, the Gambling Commission imposed a £184,500 financial penalty on Tombola (International) Plc following an investigation into social responsibility failures. The operator had breached Social Responsibility Code Provisions relating to direct electronic consent and self-exclusion handling. The Commission acknowledged the failings were isolated, that the operator cooperated fully, and that immediate remedial action was taken. But self-exclusion breaches are treated seriously by the regulator given their direct impact on at-risk players.
Site Assessment
Licensed Operator
Tombola (International) Plc is the UKGC-licensed operator behind tombola.co.uk. It's been licensed since November 2014, giving it over 11 years of regulated operation in the UK market. The operator category is listed as mixed, reflecting its bingo, casino, and virtual betting permissions. No Companies House registration details are recorded in UKGC data for this operator.