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More than 80 percent of Tombola’s revenue came from the UK at the time of its acquisition by Flutter Entertainment, with the remaining 16 percent generated in Italy and Spain. That revenue split tells you immediately where Tombola operates and, by implication, where it does not. The platform is not available worldwide, and attempting to access it from an unsupported location is not a minor inconvenience — it is a terms-of-service violation that can result in account suspension and forfeiture of funds. Understanding the geographic boundaries before you travel or relocate saves both frustration and money.
Active International Markets: Italy, Spain and Historical Presences
Tombola operates localised versions of its platform in Italy and Spain, each holding the appropriate national gambling licence. The Italian operation, Tombola.it, is licensed by the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli (ADM) and serves the Italian market with a product catalogue tailored to local preferences and regulatory requirements. The Spanish operation holds a licence from the Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ). These are not mirror images of the UK platform — each market has its own game selection, bonus structure and promotional calendar, reflecting both regulatory differences and local player preferences.
Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the UK Gambling Commission, described the timeline for addressing crypto gambling as a challenge he initially considered “a five-year-away problem” but now sees as an “18-months-to-two-years challenge.” That regulatory urgency extends to cross-border gambling generally — regulators across Europe are tightening enforcement against operators serving players outside their licensed jurisdictions, and the direction of travel is toward stricter territorial controls rather than more permissive ones.
Approximately 5.8 percent of UK gambling participants have used a VPN to access gambling sites, which indicates that geo-restriction circumvention is a known behaviour that regulators and operators actively monitor. Tombola’s geographic restrictions are enforced through IP-based geolocation, and the platform’s terms of service explicitly prohibit access from unsupported territories. Players discovered accessing the platform from a jurisdiction where Tombola does not hold a licence face account restrictions regardless of where the account was originally registered.
Flutter’s integration of Tombola has expanded the brand’s international footprint through the Sisal-Tombola bingo network, launched in Italy in July 2025. This network leverages Tombola’s bingo expertise within Sisal’s Italian market presence, creating a combined product that neither brand could have delivered independently. Whether similar partnerships emerge in other markets depends on Flutter’s strategic priorities and the regulatory landscape in each potential territory.
Geo-Restrictions and What Happens If You Travel
The most common scenario is not permanent relocation but temporary travel. A UK-based player going on holiday to France, visiting family in Australia, or attending a conference in the United States expects their Tombola account to work the same way it does at home. In most cases, it will not.
Tombola’s geolocation system identifies the user’s physical location at the point of login. If that location falls outside a jurisdiction where Tombola holds a licence, access is restricted. This is not a Tombola-specific policy — it is a regulatory requirement. A UKGC licence authorises an operator to serve players physically located in Great Britain. It does not authorise serving those same players when they are physically located in France, regardless of their nationality, residency or where their account was registered.
The practical implications for travellers are straightforward but worth understanding before departure. If you are travelling to Italy or Spain, you may be able to access the locally licensed version of Tombola, though your UK account and the local platform are separate systems. If you are travelling anywhere else, expect to lose access for the duration of the trip. Deposits, balances and pending bonuses remain in the account and are accessible on return to the UK, but active bonuses with expiry windows may lapse during travel if the trip exceeds the bonus period.
I once received an email from a reader who had been blocked from their account mid-game during a layover at Dubai airport. The frustration was understandable, but the block was operating exactly as designed. The alternative — an operator that allows unlicensed cross-border gambling — would be violating its licence conditions and risking regulatory action that would affect all players on the platform. The inconvenience for individual travellers is the cost of a system that protects the licence that makes legal operation possible.
VPN Access: Risks and Terms of Service Implications
Using a VPN to mask your location and access Tombola from an unsupported territory is explicitly prohibited in the platform’s terms of service. This is not a grey area. The terms are clear, the prohibition is enforceable, and the consequences are real.
The risks break down into three categories. First, account suspension: if Tombola detects VPN usage — and modern geolocation detection systems are increasingly sophisticated at identifying VPN connections — the account can be suspended pending investigation. During suspension, all funds in the account are frozen. Second, forfeiture: players found to have violated the geographic restrictions may forfeit their balance, including deposited funds and any pending withdrawals. Third, permanent exclusion: repeated or egregious violations can result in permanent account closure with no recourse.
The detection mechanisms are not infallible, which is why some players successfully use VPNs without immediate consequences. But “getting away with it” is not the same as “being allowed to do it.” The risk is asymmetric: the upside of using a VPN is access to a bingo platform for the duration of a holiday, while the downside is losing your account, your balance, and your history on the platform. For a recreational player with years of activity and accumulated loyalty benefits, that trade-off is unambiguously poor.
There is also a legal dimension that extends beyond Tombola’s terms of service. In some jurisdictions, accessing an online gambling platform that is not licensed locally is itself a legal offence. The severity varies — from administrative fines to criminal liability in the most restrictive markets — but the principle is consistent: gambling laws are territorial, and a UKGC licence does not grant players a right to gamble from any location in the world. Players considering VPN access should research the gambling laws of their current physical location, not just the terms of service of the platform they want to access.
For players who travel frequently and want uninterrupted access to online bingo, the realistic options are to accept the restriction and play only when in a supported territory, or to maintain accounts on locally licensed platforms in the countries they visit regularly. Tombola cannot solve the geographic restriction problem for individual players — the restrictions exist because regulators require them, and no operator can unilaterally override the licensing framework of a sovereign jurisdiction.
Can I access my Tombola account while on holiday in Europe?
Access depends on the specific country. If you travel to Italy or Spain, locally licensed versions of Tombola may be available, though they operate separately from your UK account. In most other European countries, your UK Tombola account will be restricted for the duration of your stay due to licensing requirements.
Has Tombola withdrawn from any international markets recently?
Tombola’s international presence has historically included the UK, Italy and Spain. Flutter’s acquisition in 2022 expanded the brand’s reach through the Sisal-Tombola bingo network launched in Italy in 2025. Market availability can change based on regulatory developments, so checking the platform directly for current territorial coverage is advisable.