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Tombola Arcade Verdict
Tombola Arcade really deserves recognition for doing things differently. This site does away with all the usual slot games and has made its own from the ground up, taking on a cute, cartoonish style and keeping everything casual. If you want a little flutter without worrying about wagering requirements, along with the extra communal fun of a chat room, this is the ideal site for you. If you want the usual casino offerings, you may be disappointed.
Percentage score
Design & Usability
You arrive at a kind of splash page at Tombola Arcade, with vertical scrolling to let you find out more about the site. There’s a very nice video guide to the site and everything is very well presented. The site’s colours are bright and bold without being too harsh, plus the design incorporates elements from the unique Emoji game. The site has lots of little animations too, like a dog chasing a squirrel across the bottom of the page! Lots of fun.
Once you register (which takes barely a minute), you go into a more traditionally laid out site, with links along the top and some big icons to help you get around. The main page has news-like items to help you keep up-to-date. On the downside, the site doesn’t have a typical promotions area, making offers a little harder to find.
Software & Gameplay
Tombola Arcade doesn’t really use a lobby and you may be a little confused when it comes to finding games, at first. There is a strip along the top of the site that lets you pick a type of game, then you get to choose the specific game.
The software looks very good. It’s quite minimalist and uses pastel colours and cartoon-like images, feeling almost like a smartphone interface. With a focus on casual play, this site is unlike many slots sites in that the games have a chat room. Chat appears to be pretty busy and there are plenty of hosts, so this adds a lot of value to the gaming. You can also mute sound effects and music.
Safety & Security
Tombola Arcade has full licensing as you’d expect from such a large brand. The site is licensed and regulated by the Government of Gibraltar and the UK Gambling Commission. You’ll also see that the site has full GeoTrust security and encryption for payments.
The site has a good responsible gaming section and allows you to set your limits straight away. Finally, this site uses the IBAS independent adjudication service, so if you have any disputes, these people are impartial.
Payments & Withdrawals
Depositing is nice and easy, with some quick buttons to help you get started. The minimum deposit at Tombola Arcade is low at £5, while the minimum withdrawal level is also good at £10.
This site is a little low on methods, however. You can use credit and debit cards from Visa, MasterCard and Maestro, or you can use PayPal. While PayPal is a good call as the biggest e-wallet in the UK, it’s a shame that the choice stops there.
Customer Support
Contact options be found on the sidebar of the main page, if you scroll down a little. There’s also a help section if you click ‘help’ at the very top. This is a really good setup, with information about the team, FAQs, getting started guides and more, presented in a readable way.
Tombola Arcade can be reached through live chat, phone, email or postal mail. The team aims to reply to email in 4 hours and the phone number is Freephone. These methods are available 24/7, so Tombola really have everything nailed down here, plus the team is very competent.
Bonuses & Promotions
The welcome bonus is pretty modest at Tombola, but that fits with the casual feel of the brand and a good responsible gaming attitude. Your first deposit is matched at 200%, so deposit £10 and get £20 free. This has a maximum of £25 so you certainly can’t get carried away. Best of all, there are no wagering requirements on this site! This bumps up the site’s rating and compensates for a general lack of offers.
Otherwise, promotions seem to be pretty thin on the ground here. There is a new free game called Stars, which gives you the chance to win a share of £30,000, so that’s very promising for some quick fun. You can also grab a £1 free bonus for liking the Tombola Arcade Facebook page.
Device Compatibility
You will find a useful page explaining Tombola Arcade’s mobile functionality, if you click on ‘app’ at the top. You can get an app for this site on the Apple iOS store, or you can download an Android app to install yourself (the site gives very clear instructions for this). You can also visit the site on most mobile devices by entering the usual URL.
The mobile version of this site is very good and seeing it makes the design of the desktop site ‘click’, as you see that it was built from the ground up with mobile in mind. Getting around is easy on the touch screen and the mobile slots use your real money account from the desktop site too. You can also get chat on mobile by playing in portrait mode. Very clever!
Variety & Originality
The game setup is entirely unique on Tombola Arcade! The downside of this, naturally, is that you won’t find any of the popular slots from Microgaming, NetEnt and so on. If you like to play those classics, this site is not for you. Variety suffers as a result, plus there’s no casino table gaming or live dealer gaming.
However, originality is through the roof! Tombola Arcade has ten completely new games, made just for this site. These are split into types, such as spin (slot style), pick (choosing symbols) and scratch cards. The games are quite basic in design but they look excellent and have animated bonus rounds. In particular, the Emoji game stands out. You pick 12 emoji symbols and hope to match 5 from the 20 called, like a bingo game. All this is explained when you first pick a game. If you want to see something different, this is the place. It’s also great for low-powered mobile devices.
Loyalty & Rewards
There is no traditional VIP or loyalty system at Tombola Arcade, unfortunately. The closest is the ‘Playmates’ system which is a kind of friend referral. Your referred friend gets £5 and you get £20 when they spend £20.
Further down the line you get 5 codes worth £100, then extra bonuses each time the friend wins certain amounts on bingo or arcade games. It’s very easy to use and a nice idea.
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