Free postal entry, explained
Every lawful UK prize competition must let you enter without paying, normally by sending a postcard with your details and your answer to the skill question. A postal entry receives the same number of entries and exactly the same chance of winning as a paid one. The only cost is the stamp, and the site cannot limit the free route to fewer entries or a shorter window.
How it works in practice
The mechanics are deliberately simple, because they have to be genuinely usable:
- Write your name, address, email and daytime phone number on a postcard or a sheet of paper in a sealed envelope.
- Include the name of the competition you are entering and your answer to the skill question.
- Post it to the free entry address, so it arrives before entries close.
- Your entry is added to the same draw, with the same odds as everyone else.
Why sites offer it at all
Not out of generosity — it is one of the two things that keeps a prize competition outside gambling law. Without a genuine free route or a genuine skill element, the competition is a lottery, and running an unlicensed lottery is a criminal offence.
That is why you should be suspicious of any site that makes the free route hard to find. The operator needs it more than you do.
What to watch for
A free route that exists on paper but not in practice is the most common failing in this market:
- Odds that quietly differ from paid entry.
- A window that opens later or closes earlier than paid entry.
- Limits on how many free entries you may submit when paid entries are uncapped.
- An address buried so deep in the terms that finding it is the obstacle.
Common questions
Is a postal entry really as likely to win?
Yes. It receives the same number of entries and the same chance as a paid entry. That equivalence is what makes the competition lawful.
How many free entries can I submit?
Each entry must be posted separately, and the same per-person cap that applies to paid entries applies to free ones. The cap is stated in the competition terms.
Do I still have to answer the skill question?
Yes. The skill question applies to every entrant. A wrong answer disqualifies a postal entry exactly as it would a paid one.