If a site sells tickets, the free route is what keeps the draw lawful. The ASA’s advice sets out what it has to look like.
What the ASA says
- Clear and prominent. Free entry information should be “explained clearly and prominently”. Mentioning it only in small print or full terms is not enough.
- Same level as the paid route. It should be “promoted at the same level as the paid for route”, and the ASA has considered whether it is visually overshadowed by paid options.
- Normal rate. A free route is “any method of entry charged at the normal rate”. Premium rate calls or texts are likely unacceptable.
- Ordinary post. The cost of a letter by ordinary post counts as free. Requiring special delivery is likely unacceptable.
Source: ASA: free-entry routes.
What the Gambling Commission adds
Its leaflet says the free route must cost no more and be no less convenient than the paid one, the choice must be publicised, and winners must be picked the same way for both routes.
Can the free route be online?
Sometimes. The Commission’s guidance accepts that web entry can be a free route, but people without home internet need time to get access elsewhere: it “considers three working days around the date of the particular draw as a reasonable length of time to obtain such access”. Web entry should stay open for as long as the draw is promoted, and should be made widely known. Short draws that push for instant entries are where a web-only route is most likely to fall short. A letter by ordinary post needs no device and no account, which is why postal entry stays the standard.
A quick test
- Can you find the free route without opening the terms?
- Does it sit next to the buy button, not below it in small print?
- Is it a stamp, not a premium call?
- Is the chance the same as a paid ticket?
Hoardsy’s steps are in free postal entry. Sources: the Gambling Commission’s guidance Prize competitions and free draws: the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005 (December 2009, copy hosted by Torfaen Council) and its quick guide, Running prize competitions and free draws (March 2018). The Commission says to seek legal advice if you are unsure about a competition.
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.
