Paid prize draws in the UK aren’t licensed like lotteries, but they aren’t rule-free either. Since 2025 there has been a government code for prize draw operators on top of the advertising rules. Here is what both say, in plain English.
The government’s code for prize draw operators
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published the Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators on 20 November 2025. It is voluntary: operators choose to sign it. Signatories agreed to implement it “fully within 6 months from the date of publication and no later than 20 May 2026”, and operators who sign later must comply “at the outset”.
Player protections
- 18+ only. Operators “should implement a reasonable age verification process” and offer draws only to adults.
- Spend limits. Operators should set “suitable and proportionate maximum monthly totals spend limits for all players”, or let players set their own, including £0.
- Credit cards. No more than £250 a month per player by credit card, and no credit card payments at all for instant win draws.
- Complaints. “An appropriate, transparent and robust complaints process for players.”
Transparency
- Free entry. Details of any free entry option shown before purchase, as a genuine alternative to paying.
- Chances. Where possible, “clear and easily accessible information regarding the likelihood of winning a prize” before you enter.
- Random, checkable draws. Prizes awarded “in accordance with the laws of chance”, with independent oversight or “verifiably random and auditable results”, and every entry having “an equal chance of winning each available prize”.
- The prize. The advertised prize or “a reasonable cash alternative”.
- Charity. Any charity share explained clearly.
Are there age restrictions for entering prize draws?
For paid online prize draws, the code says adults only: 18 or over, with a reasonable age check. Many operators, including The Birthday Draw and Hoardsy, write 18+ into their terms. Free promotions run by brands set their own age rules in their terms, so read them before you enter.
The advertising rules still apply
The ASA enforces section 8 of the CAP Code on every prize promotion: a prominent closing date that doesn’t move for slow sales, a clear free entry route, the prizes stated, the promoter’s name and address, and prizes awarded as described, normally within 30 days. See what a competition’s terms must say and the rulings against sites that broke them. (CAP Code section 8.)
How Hoardsy measures up
- 18+ only, with an age check before your first deposit.
- Spend limits and six-month self-exclusion in Play Responsibly.
- Free postal entry on every competition, linked next to every paid entry.
- Every prize and the chance per ticket on each competition page.
- Winners picked from a public random number after the entries are locked, checkable by anyone on Provably fair.
- A published complaints policy.
A checklist for any prize draw site
- Does it check you are 18 or over?
- Can you set a spend limit?
- Can you find the free entry route without opening the terms?
- Does it show your chance before you pay?
- Can you check how the winner was picked?
- Does it name the company running it, with an address?
Source: Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators (GOV.UK), published 20 November 2025, read 26 October 2026. Quotes are short extracts. This page is not legal advice.
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
- Is The Birthday Draw safe?
- The Birthday Draw vs prize competitions
- UK prize draw rules and the 2026 code
- What the ASA has ruled on UK competition sites
Last checked 26 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.
