Are prize competitions gambling?

The two rules that decide it

Nothing about the answer turns on how a site looks or what it calls itself. The line is drawn by section 14 of the Gambling Act 2005, and it comes down to two things:

• A genuine skill question. Every entrant answers a question that takes real skill, knowledge or judgement, and a wrong answer has to actually disqualify the entry. A question nobody could fail doesn't count.
• A free entry route of equal standing. Anyone can take part without paying, usually by post, on the same odds as a paying entrant and with no meaningful disadvantage.

What "equal standing" actually means

The free route can't be a box-ticking exercise. It has to carry the same chance of winning, stay open for the whole entry period, and be signposted properly rather than buried in the small print.

This is where the market is weakest, and it makes a fair test for any site you're weighing up. A free route that takes real hunting to find, or that quietly hands out fewer entries, is exactly the sort of practice that draws regulatory attention.

How to check a site for yourself

Four questions separate a lawful competition from something that just looks like one:

• Is there a skill question, and would a wrong answer genuinely disqualify you?
• Is the free postal route explained clearly, with the same odds stated in plain terms?
• Does the site publish the total number of tickets, so you can work the odds out?
• Is the draw result published afterwards, so you can check it rather than just trust a video?

What this is not

This isn't a casino. There are no slots, no roulette, no blackjack and no betting on outcomes. Those are licensed gambling activities, and we won't build them.

It isn't a lottery either. A lottery hands out prizes purely by chance, with no skill and no free route, which is exactly what the two rules above rule out.

Common questions

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