beforehand, chiefly:Running a tombola is not difficult - but it does take some thinking through beforehand, chiefly:
So long as your tombola is part of a fundraising event for charity or some other good cause - and there are other things to do at that fundraising event (like other games) - then there are very few legal restrictions.
Prizes
Even for a small event lasting only a couple of hours, you'll need at least 30 prizes for a well-stocket tombola - and considerably more, the larger your event.
There are several options for getting a stock of prizes.
Donated Prizes - Many tombolas are run with prizes that have been donated by members of the group, or their family and friends, and perhaps by local shops.
Of course a tombola with donated prizes means there's no need to use any of the proceeds to pay for buying prizes. Even so, a donated stock of prizes may not make your tombola the most effective fundraiser. Whilst most people will buy a tombola ticket almost as a matter of course, they might not be tempted to spend more money on having another go - unless your donated prizes are really attractive.
Donated and Bought Prizes - You can make your tombola more attractive by "sprinkling" some bought prizes among the donated ones. These might be small prizes - sweets or a little toy - aimed at children in particular; or some pretty soaps or candles for adults. Some more striking star prizes will help to draw people to the tombola - and may encourage those who've already won a small prize to try their luck again.
Ready-Made Tombola Packs - You can buy ready-made tombola packs - commonly with a selection of toys. It's a quick and convenient way of stocking a tombola - which saves you the hassle of looking for prizes. And toys as 
tombola prizes do have a wide appeal.
The drawback is that you have to spend money buying the tombola pack - but, with prizes worth having, you can reckon that many people will be prepared to spend more on buying tombola tickets; which makes them an effective fundraiser.
But you do need to take care to choose a pack which brings in a good profit without having to sell an unrealistically large quantity of tombola tickets for your event.
Tombola Drums
You need something out of which people can draw tickets. A supermarket carrier bag, or a bucket or box, will do the job - but only up to a point.
A proper tombola drum adds to the excitement of the tombola - because people (especially children) can turn the drum for themselves before drawing out their ticket. And a striking tombola drum adds to the attraction of the tombola stall for passers-by - and of course you can use the same drum for raffles on other occasions as well.
It's also easy to take a peek inside buckets and boxes - a real drawback if winning tickets can be spotted; unlike a tombola drum.
Ticket Prices and Odds of Winning
What you can charge for tombola tickets is going to depend on your fundraising event, the value of the prizes on offer, and what those attending your event are likely to be prepared to spend.
Much of the attraction of a tombola - especially for children - is that you can win a prize if you keep on having another go. But there are limits to pocket money - or to mum's purse and patience (or dad's)! So it can be a good policy to keep your ticket prices low enough to be able to have a go several times - and also to have a reasonable chance of winning prizes.
This means that you need to decide what the odds of winning a prize are going to be:-
When setting the odds, do bear in mind that people attending your event - and especially those standing near your tombola stall - will be able to see whether other people have won prizes. If there are few winners, they may not bother having a go themselves - and you won't raise as many funds.
It's up to you whether you have a poster explaining the chances of winning a prize.
At a adults-only fundraising event, you might charge more for tickets. But really the same principle applies: a price at which people will pay out for more than one go; and a reasonable change of winning a prize.
Winning Tickets and Losing Tickets
You can make up winning and losing tickets using ordinary cloakroom tickets - or you can buy special tombola tickets.
If all your prizes are of much the same value - and likely to be equally popular - then you can simply let those who draw a winning prize pick whatever prize they like.
But this isn't such a good idea if some prizes are much better than others - because of course the best prizes will be taken by the first few winners, and you may be left with a less attractive stall for much of your event. The alternative is to attach winning numbers - or colour codes - to particular prizes; so you can make it harder to win the better prizes.
You can also have problems if a numbered star prize is a bottle of whiskey, and 
a child draws the winning ticket; or a boy wins a very girlie soft toy! Colour-coding prizes for adults and for children (and for boys and girls) is a good idea.
There's further information about making up winning and losing tickets - including star prizes, and colour-coding for adults' and children's prizes in our information pages about using cloakroom tickets for your tombola, and using special tombola tickets.