The Prize Draw Code Explained

What the Prize Draw Code is

The Prize Draw Code is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators. It covers prize draws in Great Britain that offer both a paid and a free entry route and are decided by chance, which is the kind of competition that needs no gambling licence because of its free route. It is voluntary: operators choose to sign up and publish how they follow it. It is not a law and does not replace consumer protection, advertising or data protection rules, which still apply in full. The government has said the success of the Code will decide whether it takes further action, including legislation.

Why the Code exists

Prize draws have grown into a big market. Research for DCMS put the sector at around £1.3 billion a year, with 7.4 million adults taking part and more than 400 operators. The same research found that 88% of prize draw players also gamble, compared with 60% of adults generally, and that players experiencing gambling harm entered more often and spent more. The Code is the industry and government's answer: a shared set of standards for protecting players, being open about how draws work, and taking responsibility when something goes wrong.

Player protections you should expect

The first part of the Code is about keeping people safe. An operator that follows it should offer all of the following:

• Entry for adults only. Players must be 18 or over, operators must use reasonable age checks, and adverts must not target under 18s.
• A cap on credit cards. No player can pay one operator more than £250 a month by credit card, and credit cards cannot be used for instant win draws at all.
• A monthly spend limit across everything the operator runs, either set by the operator or chosen by you, and you must be able to set it to £0.
• A way to step away. You must be able to suspend your account for at least six months or close it for good, with no entries and no marketing while it is suspended. Operators are encouraged to offer shorter pauses too, such as a week.
• Someone keeping an eye out. From the day you open an account, operators should look for signs of harm, such as regularly reaching a spend limit or switching between payment methods, and step in when they see them.
• Signposting to free, confidential support, such as Citizens Advice, National Debtline, Samaritans and Mind.
• A clear complaints process.
• Responsible marketing that never presents a draw as an escape from problems, a fix for money worries, an alternative to work or a route to financial security.

What you should be told before you enter

The second part of the Code is about transparency. Before you spend anything, you should be able to see:

• How each draw runs, its rules, and a clear statement that prizes are awarded in line with the laws of chance.
• How winners are picked. That means an independent person, or a verifiably random and auditable computer process, with the method published on the website.
• That every entry has an equal chance of winning, whether it was paid for or free.
• Where possible, how likely you are to win, such as the maximum number of tickets available.
• The free entry route, explained clearly before you buy, with enough time allowed for postal entries to arrive and be counted.

Promises about prizes and closing dates

The Code also asks operators to give winners the advertised prize, or a reasonable cash alternative, promptly. It says a prize should never be reduced, a closing date never moved and a draw never cancelled because of low ticket sales. These rules exist because a draw that quietly shrinks or drags on is one of the easiest ways for entrants to lose out without realising it.

Accountability

The third part of the Code is about operators holding themselves to it. They must monitor and review their own compliance and fix gaps quickly, make sure partners such as affiliate marketers follow the same rules, and publish their player protection, transparency and accountability measures on their website. DCMS oversees the Code and can review it over time.

Quick checks before you enter anywhere

1. Look for a page that explains how the site follows the Prize Draw Code. The Code asks operators to publish one.
2. Check the signatory list on the GOV.UK Code page.
3. Open your account settings and look for a monthly spend limit you can set to £0 and a way to suspend or close your account.
4. Make sure the free entry route is explained before you reach checkout.
5. Check each competition shows its maximum number of tickets and a closing date.
6. Read how winners are picked, and whether you can check a result yourself.

How Odds Up follows the Code

What the Code asks for and how Odds Up does it. Our full commitments are on our Prize Draw Code page.

Where Odds Up differs, and why

There is one place where we do something different. The Code says a draw should not be cancelled because of low ticket sales. Every Odds Up competition publishes, before you enter, a minimum number of tickets that must be sold. If fewer are sold by the closing date, there is no draw and every paid entry is refunded in full. Our card payment provider requires this as a condition of accepting payments for our competitions, so we keep it as fair as we can: the minimum is shown up front, it can be lowered but never raised once a competition opens, the closing date is never extended to reach it, and a competition that reaches it is always drawn for the full prize. We explain this on our Prize Draw Code page.

The bottom line

The Prize Draw Code gives you a simple yardstick for any competition site: can you see how the draw works, can you control what you spend, and can you step away when you want to? If the answer to any of those is no, think twice before entering. Competitions should always be entertainment, and our Responsible Gaming page lists free, confidential support if they ever stop feeling that way.