A free prize draw is one nobody has to pay to enter. When a site also sells tickets, the free route has to be real. Here’s what that means.
What counts as free
Law firm Irwin Mitchell says free entry means sending a communication at the normal rate, such as standard postage, and that premium rates are not permitted. The free route must be advertised with equal prominence and must not disadvantage free entrants: the prize system “must not differentiate between those who participate by paying” and those who enter for free. (Irwin Mitchell: prize competitions and prize draws.)
Why sites that sell tickets need one
Without a free route, a paid draw won by chance is likely an unlicensed lottery. That is why almost every paid competition site offers a postal entry. See are online prize draws legit?
Is it easy?
The ASA upheld complaints against sites whose route was a line of small print, or sat apart from the ticket links. A real route is easy to find and costs only a stamp.
How to enter Hoardsy free
Every Hoardsy competition can be entered free by post, with the same odds, instant prizes and end-draw chance as a paid ticket. Full steps are in free postal entry.
Prize draws you can enter free this Christmas
Each of these can be entered by post at no cost, with the same chance as a paid ticket. The letter must arrive before the close.
- Win £5,000 cash: closes Friday 25 December at 8pm
- Win an iPhone 18 Pro Max: closes Sunday 13 December at 9pm
- Win a MacBook Pro M5: closes Sunday 13 December at 9pm
- Win a PS5 Pro and GTA 6: closes Sunday 13 December at 9pm
- Win a Canada Goose parka: closes Sunday 13 December at 9pm
- Win a Moncler Maya jacket: closes Sunday 13 December at 9pm
- Win a Dyson Airwrap i.d.: closes Sunday 13 December at 9pm
- Win £1,000 cash: closes Sunday 13 December at 9pm
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
- What the ASA has ruled on UK competition sites
- Instant win vs end draw
- How a provably fair draw works
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.
