What is the raffle draw process?

5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. time’s up! The countdown has stopped and the chance to get in on the act and purchase a ticket to enter and win a raffle draw is over. In this day and age, with everything digitalised, surely the process of determining the winner should be instant? So, why can it take so long to find out who, if not you, has the winning ticket?

As it happens, not all online raffle draws are the same. While the prize competition platforms themselves do not have a gambling license per se, they are regulated by the Gambling Commission in accordance with the Gambling Act. Depending on the type of competition that is offered, as part of the entry process, consumers may be asked to do a spot the ball challenge, engage in a test of skill, knowledge or judgement, or, as is increasingly common, the platform offers in lieu of paying for a ticket, a free entry route via post.

The delay announcing the lucky winner is often due to the third of these competition formats, where organisers of the raffle draw need to allow sufficient time for postal entries to be delivered, collated and added to the digital tickets before any draw can take place.

Whether you are a prince or pauper, the postal method of entering an online raffle draw is an option available to all comers. Rather than being glued to your screen and paying with fiat currency, this version allows for the slower paced, more “trad” individual to submit an entry via the Royal Mail. There are several bits of information that need to be clearly written to ensure the entry is valid and correctly linked to the right individual and account. Typical details and requirements can be found here.

While entry by post is arguably more labourious, you can enter and win phenomenal prizes for as little as the cost of a second class stamp. Talk about reward for effort, and at minimal cost. Just a word of caution, when you enter a raffle draw via this route, take your time to provide the relevant information as asked. Illegible or incomplete data can result in an invalid submission, leaving the raffle draw organiser with no way of notifying the applicant. Be sure to go to the website and check that your account, which you created as part of the process, has been credited with the relevant online raffle draw tickets.

At Raffle House, when you enter any competition you will receive an email alert with your ticket details that can also be found on your personal account online. On the website, there is a timeline of the closed, current and future competitions dates, as well as the date of the raffle draw itself. If you’re a stickler for the detail, head to the social channels Instagram and Facebook to find out more.

In step 1 in the process, Raffle House provides third-party competition specialists, Civica, with all the paid and free entry tickets. Civica will then conduct the draw on behalf of Raffle House and provide the winning ticket alongside three possible runners-up.

Raffle House then contact the winner. Typically, we hear back quickly, usually with a mix of delighted disbelief. However, there have been occasions when the winner has been uncontactable. This happens now and again, and our Ts & Cs state for 21 days we will try and get hold of the rightful winner before turning to the list of ‘runners-up’. In March 2024, we were trying to track down a ‘Ryan’, unsuccessfully as it happens.

The good news is, once you’ve received the winner’s email, there’s not a great deal for you to do. Of course, there is an ID verification process, we need to check your age, and that you are who you say you are! Delivery of the prize will simply depend on what you’ve won, and you be furnished with your new life-changing prize as soon as you can say, ‘well, I’ll be damned!’