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Simple & fair

How it works

Grand Draws runs skill-based prize competitions. Pick a cash prize, answer a genuine skill question, then enter with tickets from under £1 or free by post. Each competition is drawn by a provably-fair method at 9pm on its closing date once it reaches its minimum entries, and you can check any result yourself. Because entry is skill-based and a free route is always open, this is not gambling and no gambling licence is required. 18+.

A radial fan of fifty and twenty pound notes spread edge-on against deep navy, with a few pound coins scattered around
Four steps

The journey of a ticket

Follow the brass token down the rail. A skill question and a free postal route sit on every competition. 18+.

  1. Published odds

    Step 1: Pick a cash prize

    Every draw is for tax-free cash, and every competition shows the same facts up front: the prize, the ticket price, how many tickets the draw has, the cap per person, and the minimum number of entries it needs before it runs. Prices start under £1, and because the numbers are published, so are your odds.

  2. No purchase necessary

    Step 2: Answer the skill question, then choose how to enter

    Each competition opens with a multiple-choice skill question, and only a correct answer qualifies your entry. That question is not decoration: it is one of the two things that make this a lawful prize competition rather than gambling. Then decide how many tickets to hold, or enter for nothing at all: the free postal entry route carries exactly the same odds as a paid ticket.

  3. Rollover if short

    Step 3: The draw runs at 9pm on the closing date

    Once a competition reaches its minimum entries (half its ticket allocation, with the exact figure on the competition page), the draw runs automatically at 9pm on the closing date using a verifiable random method we cannot influence. If it falls short by then, the prize rolls over to the next draw: nothing is cancelled and no prize is shrunk.

  4. Provably fair

    Step 4: The winner is paid, and anyone can check the result

    We contact the winner directly, publish the result in the winners archive, and pay the tax-free cash straight into their bank. Draws are published, not streamed, and anyone can recompute one at /draw-check.

Not gambling

A genuine skill question plus a free postal route keep us outside gambling law. No licence required.

Provably fair

Every draw runs automatically at 9pm and every result is published and checkable.

Transparent draws

Verifiable random selection, published and checkable, with a public winners archive.

Common questions

Why is there a skill question?

The skill question is what separates a lawful prize competition from a lottery. Answer it correctly and your entry qualifies; get it wrong and it does not count.

What is the free entry route?

Every competition can be entered for free by sending a postcard with your details and your answer to the skill question. A valid postal entry has exactly the same chance of winning as a paid one.

How are winners chosen?

Once a competition closes and has reached its minimum entries, the winning ticket is selected by a verifiable, provably-fair random method that runs automatically at 9pm on the closing date. Draws are published rather than streamed: anyone can recompute and check the result at /draw-check. We contact the winner directly and publish the result in our winners archive.

What happens if a competition doesn’t reach its minimum?

Every competition needs a minimum number of entries before its draw goes ahead: half its ticket allocation, with the exact figure shown on the competition page. If it doesn’t reach that by the closing date, the prize rolls over to the next draw rather than being drawn on a tiny number of entries. Nothing is cancelled and no prize is shrunk.

Ready to have a go?

Tickets from under £1, or enter free by post. 18+.

Browse competitions

Your ticket could be next

Every competition has published odds, a provably-fair draw and a free postal route. 18+.

Browse competitions