tombola

Under the current structure, tombola retains its headquarters at Wylam Wharf in Sunderland, overlooking the River Wear, but has scaled its workforce to over 800 employees. The operational footprint has expanded significantly beyond the UK, with the largest overseas office located in Gibraltar. The company also maintains active teams and operations across regulated markets in Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Malta.

Diversification and Product Expansion

Prior to its acquisition, the company spent the 2010s diversifying its product offering and geographical reach. A key development was the launch of “tombola arcade” in July 2016. This move introduced online slots and instant-win games to their portfolio. However, unlike the wider industry trend of using third-party aggregators, tombola maintained a strict policy of in-house development. Every game was designed, developed, and managed internally to ensure exclusivity.

The arcade division was built on the same “low-stake” philosophy as their bingo product, prioritizing responsible gambling and player retention over high-stakes acquisition. During this decade, the brand also solidified its mainstream visibility through major media sponsorships, including partnerships with ITV flagship programs and Sunderland AFC.

Independence and The Digital Switch

The modern iteration of the company began to take shape on August 26, 2008. On this date, the management team ended existing white-label arrangements with national newspaper groups to launch tombola as a fully independent, standalone operator. This followed the brand’s initial entry into the online bingo market in 2006.

The digital capabilities of the firm were established earlier, stemming from Intermedia Games, a company founded by Phil Cronin in 1994. Intermedia initially focused on creating promotional games for television and print media, including high-volume syndicates for tabloids. Recognizing the shift in media consumption, Cronin pivoted the business toward internet technologies in December 1999, navigating the dot-com crash to rebuild the company as an online gaming provider.

The Paper Heritage

While tombola is now a digital first entity, its corporate roots lie in physical manufacturing. The lineage traces back to the 1950s in Sunderland at the Edward Thompson stationery shop. The business transition began when Frank Cronin, the nephew of the shop’s owner, began printing bingo tickets to fulfill a request from a local priest.

This niche manufacturing venture coincided with the United Kingdom’s post-war bingo boom, where cinemas were frequently converted into gaming halls. The demand for physical tickets exploded, and by the 1970s, the family business was printing approximately 150 million bingo tickets per week, establishing the financial and industrial foundation for the future digital enterprise.