A Short History of Tambola

Italian beginnings

The game's earliest ancestor is the Italian state lottery, which took shape in the 1500s. Numbers were drawn at random and players won if they had picked the right ones. Over time a home version grew out of it, played with cards and drawn tokens around the family table — a tradition still alive in Italy as tombola, especially at Christmas.

Across Europe

By the 1700s a version called le lotto was popular in France, played on cards with three rows and nine columns — the same layout used on Tambola tickets today. In the 1800s German schools even used lotto-style games to drill spelling, arithmetic and history.

“Housey-Housey” and the forces

The game travelled widely with the British armed forces, where it was known as housey-housey and was one of the few games of chance permitted to soldiers and sailors. It later became the staple of bingo halls across the UK.

Bingo in the United States

In America the game took a different turn. It became known as bingo, and the most common version uses 75 numbers on a 5×5 card with a free centre square — a different ticket from the 90-ball, 3×9 format used in Tambola.

Tambola in India

In India the 90-ball game took root as Tambola or Housie and became a fixture of social life: kitty parties, club evenings, housing society events, weddings, and festivals like Diwali and New Year. Indian games are known for their long and creative prize lists — Early Five, corners, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and more — which keep everyone in the game until the very end.

Today the game has moved online as well, with printable tickets and virtual calling boards making it easy to play with family and friends anywhere.

One game, many names

• Tambola — the most common name in India.
• Housie — used in India, Australia and New Zealand.
• 90-ball bingo — the usual name in the UK and Ireland.
• Tombola — the Italian family game.