Tombola Arcade

P J Aitken
Last update: 30/11/2023

Bingo Paradise Rating

Tombola Arcade launched back in 2016 and is the lesser-known sibling of Tombola Bingo, which has been around since 2006. The About Us states that the casino is family-run, which might have been true once, but these days the Tombola brand is owned by Flutter Entertainment (owners of Betfair and Paddy Power), so it’s far from a humble and independent brand.

Usually, that’s a bad thing, but not in this case. Initially, I wrote that Tombola Arcade was “like booking a stay in a luxurious 5-star hotel room, but to get there you have to walk through a reception room that looks like it was designed 70 years ago and hasn’t been updated since.” But Flutter has had time to do their thing and they made it work.

Still, there are some things here that you might not like, and some things that I definitely didn’t like, so let’s take a closer look.

Welcome Offer

Tombola Arcade offers a £50 Welcome Bonus for all new players depositing £50. That’s how it’s advertised, but it’s basically a 100% Matched Deposit Offer with a minimum deposit of £10.

If you deposit the minimum, you’ll get an additional £10 to play with for a total of £20. It’s one of the better things about Tombola Arcade, as it gives you the perfect head-start and a great excuse to play all of the casino’s original slots (more on those below).

£50 is the maximum bonus amount, so whether you’re depositing £50, or £500, you’ll always get that £50 bonus boost.

Bonus funds can’t be withdrawn and real money is always staked before bonus funds. There are no high wagering requirements to meet, and the bonus credits are available on most of the site’s games.

To be fair to Tombola Arcade, it’s a very good bonus. I feel like I should point that out as I am about to be very critical of this casino. It’s one of those bonuses that seem too good to be true and leaves you waiting for the catch. But it really is as good as it looks, and that’s a rarity.

The following significant terms apply to the welcome offer: Deposit from £10. Match up to £50 bonus. First deposit only. Any winnings can be withdrawn. Bonus money cannot be withdrawn. Full T&Cs Apply Here. 

Slots and Other Games

There are a few major pros and cons where the Tombola Arcade slot games are concerned.

First the good news.

All Tombola Arcade slots are original, which means you won’t find them anywhere else. I have praised casinos like Casino2020 and the other Intouch Games Casino brands in the past for offering unique games, so it’s only fair to extend the same praise to Tombola Arcade.

In an industry known for recycling themes, layouts, and even entire casinos, it’s good to see something you haven’t seen a million times before.

The site also operates more like a giant bingo room, in that the slots are attached to a massive chat room. There are over 100 chat moderators keeping everything clean and friendly and these chats are usually very active.

Personally, I don’t want to watch people moan and chat about the weather while I’m gaming. I can’t think of anything worse. But it’s a matter of taste, and the chat feature is easy to ignore.

Now for the bad stuff.

The chat room is full of moaning. I know that I just said it’s easy to ignore, but if you’re an upbeat person and you’re keen on chatting, you may struggle with this.

Most of the moaning revolves around how difficult and rare it is to get a payout.

That brings me to the second issue.

When you have so many new games, players don’t trust them as much as the games they know and love. The fact that they are created especially for the site doesn’t seem to inspire much confidence in players, either, which is why complaints and reviews about low payouts are more common here than elsewhere.

It should be noted that Tombola Arcade is a legit casino and it abides by the strict rules and regulations set by the UK Gambling Commission. All of its games are fair and all of them follow the listed payouts. I personally don’t like them as much as games created by NetEnt, Blueprint, and Playtech, but they’re definitely legit and fair.

And why wouldn’t they be? All legal and fair slot games have a house edge, which means the casino basically has a license to print money while operating legally.

Tombola Arcade Review Summary

There’s a lot to like about Tombola Arcade…

The games are unique, the Welcome Bonus is fantastic, and like it or hate it, Tombola is a huge brand in the United Kingdom.

But there are just as many issues. As noted with sites like Jammy Monkey, while unique games are always a welcome sight, it often means sacrificing variety and quantity, and that’s something that Tombola Arcade definitely does. What’s more, unique games created by online casinos just can’t compete with the class of Blueprint and NetEnt or the jackpot size of Microgaming and Playtech.

I also think that the casino could use a few more loyalty offers, as well as some real money slot tournaments.

All things considered, it’s an interesting slot site created by a brand better known for its bingo offering. But if I had to choose between Tombola Arcade and the likes of Wink Slots, I would always choose the latter.