How to check a competition is genuine
Seven questions settle it: is the ticket cap published, is there a free entry route on the same odds, does the draw go ahead if it does not sell out, can you check the result afterwards, is the entry list published, are winners published with real detail, and does the company exist on the register. Each one below says why it matters and what a good answer looks like. They apply to us as much as to anybody.
- 1
Is the number of tickets capped, and published?
An uncapped draw means your odds get worse every time somebody else enters, and you will never be told when. A capped one means your chance is fixed the moment you buy and can be worked out before you pay.
Here: Every competition page shows the total ticket cap and the per-person limit before you enter. Work out the odds yourself
- 2
Is there a free entry route, on the same odds?
A genuine free route is what keeps a competition lawful without a gambling licence, and it is also the clearest signal of how an operator thinks. A free route buried in the terms, or one that quietly gets fewer entries than a paid ticket, tells you plenty.
Here: A free postal entry receives the same number of entries and exactly the same chance as a paid ticket, and appears on the published entry list like any other. Read the free entry route
- 3
Does the draw go ahead if it does not sell out?
This is the one that costs operators money, which is why it is the one most worth asking. A site that can cancel or roll over a draw for low sales has transferred its risk to you after you paid.
Here: Every draw goes ahead on its closing date with the full prize, sold out or not. It is in the terms, not just the marketing. See it in the terms
- 4
Can you check the result afterwards?
Most operators ask you to trust a video or a name. The stronger test is whether you could recompute the winning number yourself from published data. If the answer is no, every assurance rests on their word.
Here: We publish a fingerprint of a secret before entries close, name a future public randomness round nobody can predict, and reveal the secret afterwards so anyone can recompute the winner. Recompute a real draw
- 5
Is the entry list published?
Without it you cannot tell how many people entered, or whether the winning ticket belonged to anybody at all. With it, the draw is auditable by people who are not in it.
Here: When entries close the full list publishes: every ticket number with the first name and county of the holder. How our draws work
- 6
Are past winners published, and payment described?
A site with no winners page, or one with no dates and no checkable detail, is asking for a lot of faith. So is one that will not say how or when a prize is paid.
Here: Winners are published with first name, county and the winning ticket number, and the terms state how and when a prize is paid. See the winners
- 7
Who is behind it, and does the register agree?
A promoter must give a real company name and address. It takes a minute to check it on the Companies House register, which is free, and to see whether the company is active and who runs it.
Here: HDCH Limited, company number 16237398, with the registered office published in full in the footer and the terms. Who we are
Why "provably fair" is the one that matters most
Six of those seven tests are about disclosure: an operator telling you something. The fourth is different, because it does not ask you to believe anything. It asks whether the maths is open.
A commit-and-reveal draw works like this. Before entries close, the operator generates a secret number and publishes its fingerprint, a one-way hash. Once that is public the secret is fixed: changing it would change the fingerprint and anyone could see. At the same time the operator names a specific future round of a public randomness beacon, produced by independent organisations, which has not happened yet and which nobody can predict or influence.
When that round publishes, the winning ticket is computed from the secret and the beacon together. Afterwards the secret is revealed. Anyone can now redo the whole calculation and confirm the published winner is the one the method produces. Neither half is enough alone: the secret alone could have been chosen after seeing the entries, and the beacon alone does not prove the operator did not go fishing for a round that suited them.
You do not have to take ours on trust either. Verify a draw runs the check in your own browser and fetches the beacon value directly from its source.
What a bad answer sounds like
None of this requires an accusation, and we are not making one about anybody. But some answers are weak on their face: "all our draws are fair", "the draw is done by a random number generator", "we use a third-party tool", or a video of a wheel. None of those lets you check anything after the event.
The useful follow-up is always the same question: what can I recompute myself, and from what published data? An operator that has a real answer gives it quickly.
Common questions
How can I tell if a competition site is genuine?
Ask seven things: is the ticket cap published, is there a free entry route on the same odds, does the draw go ahead if it does not sell out, can you check the result afterwards, is the entry list published, are winners published with real detail, and does the company exist on the Companies House register. An operator that answers all seven without being chased is behaving properly.
What is a provably fair draw?
One you can recompute yourself. Before entries close the operator publishes a cryptographic fingerprint of a secret number and names a future round of a public randomness beacon. Because the fingerprint is already public the secret cannot be changed, and because the beacon has not happened yet nobody can predict it. Afterwards the secret is revealed and anybody can redo the arithmetic.
Why does a capped number of tickets matter?
Because it fixes your odds at the moment you buy. On an uncapped draw every additional entrant makes your chance worse, and you have no way of knowing how many will join before it closes.
Is a free entry route really the same odds?
It should be, and the terms are where to check. A postal entry should be allocated real ticket numbers from the same pool and appear on the same entry list. If an operator cannot say plainly that the odds are identical, treat that as the answer.
What are the warning signs?
A ticket cap that is not stated, a free route that is hard to find or offers fewer entries, draws that can be cancelled for low sales, no published entry list, no checkable winners, a fee of any kind to release a prize, and pressure to enter before a countdown ends. Any one of those is worth a question; two together is worth walking away.
Your ticket could be next
Your ticket could be next
Every competition has published odds, a draw anyone can verify and a free postal route. 18+.