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Dec 26, 2012

Tombola: the most traditional Christmas game.

Tombola was born in Naples in 1734.
Father Gregorio Maria Rocco wanted king Charles III to abolish Lotto, the very popular public lottery. The king preferred to keep it in order to have public control over gambling:  without a public lottery illegal gambling would prosper.
In the end Lotto was kept but suspended during religious festivities, so people started playing tombola at Christmas.
Now it is the most traditional Christmas game all over Italy.

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