What is "Christmas Ticket Draw"?

A christmas ticket draw would be a lottery of sorts, depending on the prize. Generally, people buy tickets to try and win a prize or a share of the pot.

As an aside, you have got to clear some hurdles before you can sell tickets to a drawing in the US. Everyone in attendence would probably be eligible - again, if it's in the US.

A ticket draw is a small lottery. They are often called "raffles" or "tombolas". The object is to raise money, possibly for the school or for charity. Numbered tickets are sold to the participants, usually parents of pupils, teachers, etc. Sometimes pupils take tickets home to sell to relatives and neighbours. The "Draw" is when the winning number is selected by a random method.

Tickets are available in different styles







Each ticket has a unique number. There is a stub which is kept by the seller, on which the ticket number is also printed, and on which the seller writes the buyer's name and address or phone number. The stubs are handed in to the organisers along with the money paid, and usually used to pick the winning tickets.

Huh.. There are 50/50's sold at almost every game or event around here. I know you have different laws on winnings, but I didn't imagine it was at the grassroots level as well. It must be difficult to raise cash for somethings.

That's pretty much what we do here, although I've never heard the term tombolas. Is that Spanish?

Tombola is Latin/Italian - that's how we call a raffle here in Germany, too.

I just looked up to situation here ... which is not only different from state to state but from town/district to town/district as well.
However, generally, a minimum of 25% must be wins, the smallest win must be at least what a ticket costs ...

An "Italian-style lottery". I first heard the word around 1960 when my grandfather was organising one at his local village fair in Leicestershire (UK). I believe the word passed into English use around the end of the 19th century, and that the etymology is from the Italian verb tombolare to tumble or turn upside down.

Tickets are printed in pairs: one is sold to the participant, the other retained. The stub may be annotated with the participant's name, address, phone, etc if it is likely that not all entrants will be present at the draw.

The essential feature is the method of drawing the winning numbers, which is done in public. The stubs of all the sold tickets are placed in a machine, typically a transparent or perforated drum or basket which can be rotated multiple times by the drawing person or sometimes a random person from the audience or an independent trusted person (At Grandpa's fair it was the pastor). The ticket stubs are thus visibly tumbled so that everyone can see that the lottery is fair. After tumbling the winning stubs are taken out and the numbers announced.



Such machines can also be used for other kinds of random selection e.g. Bingo. Often numbered balls are used.

The word has passed into Spanish - for example the singer Manu Chao tells us that "La vida es una tómbola". ("Life is a lottery"). Hearing the song or seeing the accent tells you that in passing, emphasis has shifted from the penultimate syllable (Italian) to the first (Spanish).

The British law is similar: "lotteries", which would include most raffles, are illegal unless they are (a) the National Lottery or (b) authorised by the Lotteries and Amusement Acts 1976. There are exemptions in the Act that allow small raffle type draws, chiefly to do with prize money limits.

Tombolas are usually very small prize affairs, at least the ones I've been to are, at school/church fetes. Usually all the prizes and their winning numbers are displayed on the table. The winning numbers usually end in 5 or 0. You pay to take a number of tickets from a box usually 5 for £1. When you open them up, if your number ends in a 5 or 0 you find your prize on the table, usually a bottle of shampoo or a colouring book.

Thanks everyone. I grew up in the heart of little Italy here and I don't believe I've every heard that word. I would have referred to the above picture as a bingo or lottery drum, although it's used the same way here too. Interesting..

This is a photo from a "world record tombola" ...

... with 7.200 wins. (For the Frankfurt University children's hospital)

Were the prizes hokey, Walter?

No, I looked at the local press, and even a wekk later some didn't claim a weekend trip to Austria, two drill machines, various smaller wins ...

Thank u all for your valuable help! Without them we never could have easily known.