Most competitions exclude staff, suppliers and their families. Two ASA rulings show what happens when a winner turns out to be connected.
Two rulings, two outcomes
- Royalux Competitions, 15 January 2025: upheld. The winner was an immediate family member of a supplier, who the terms excluded. The terms were changed after the draw to let them keep the prize, which the ASA called “not a fair or honourable way to treat participants”. Read the ruling summary.
- Hendy Group, 29 November 2017: not upheld. The winner was married to the cousin of an employee’s de facto partner, a link the ASA said consumers would not expect to be excluded. Read the ruling summary.
What this means
- Exclusions are binding as written. Changing them after the draw is unfair.
- Vague wording (“their families”) invites disputes. The ASA said it would have been preferable for the Hendy terms to name the relations excluded.
- Proper supervision matters: the code requires promotions to be conducted equitably and under proper supervision.
Checks before you enter
- Does the site say who is excluded, specifically?
- Is the winner chosen by something you can verify, not a person? See how a provably fair draw works.
- Are results published?
How Hoardsy runs its competitions
- Closing dates are never extended for slow sales.
- There’s no minimum number of sales: every end-draw prize and top instant prize is awarded, sold out or not.
- Every competition page shows its prizes and your chance per ticket before you enter.
- Every competition can be entered free by post, with the same chances as a paid ticket. See free postal entry.
Keep reading
- All Hoardsy guides
- Are online prize draws legit?
- What the ASA has ruled on UK competition sites
- How to spot a risky competition site
Last checked 12 October 2026.
Hoardsy
See the competitions
Choose a draw or an instant game. Every prize and its chance is on the page before you enter.
18+, Great Britain only. Free postal entry on every competition.
