Are online raffles legal in the UK? Prize draws, free entry and skill questions explained
Yes, online raffles are legal in the UK when they're set up properly. Most UK raffle and competition websites are not lotteries in law. They run as prize draws with a free entry route, or as prize competitions that need real skill. Get the setup wrong, though, and a draw can count as an illegal lottery, whatever you call it.
- A draw where people pay to enter and the winner is picked purely by chance is a lottery under the Gambling Act 2005. A business can't run one.
- Most raffle sites stay outside that definition by offering a free way to enter, usually by post, that's just as easy and gives the same chance of winning.
- The other route is a real test of skill or knowledge. An easy question doesn't count.
- Since November 2025 there's also a government Voluntary Code for prize draw operators, covering age checks, spending controls and how draws are run.
When does a raffle count as a lottery?
The Gambling Act 2005 defines a lottery by how it works, not by its name. Section 14 says an arrangement is a lottery "irrespective of how it is described". Calling it a competition, a giveaway or a prize draw changes nothing.
A simple lottery has two ingredients:
- people have to pay to take part, and
- the prizes are given out by a process that relies wholly on chance.
If both are true, it's a lottery. Outside the National Lottery, lotteries are tightly controlled: they're mostly limited to good causes with the right licence or registration, and small exempt raffles such as one at a school fair. A business can't run a lottery for its own profit.
So a legal raffle business has to remove one of the two ingredients. Either entry doesn't have to be paid for, or the winner isn't decided by chance alone.
Route 1: a prize draw with a free entry route
This is how most UK raffle sites work. Players can buy tickets online, but they can also enter for free. Schedule 2 of the Gambling Act sets out when a free route means a draw doesn't count as requiring payment. In plain English, all four of these have to be true:
- A real choice. Each person can choose to enter by paying or by sending a free entry, usually by post.
- Just as easy. The free route must be "neither more expensive nor less convenient" than paying. A first or second class stamp is fine. A premium-rate phone line isn't.
- Properly publicised. The free route has to be shown in a way that's likely to come to the attention of everyone who enters, not buried in the small print.
- The same chance. The way winners are picked mustn't treat free entries differently from paid ones.
The Advertising Standards Authority adds that the free route should be promoted at the same level as the paid one. The DCMS Code asks for it to be shown "clearly and prominently" before purchase.
We cover the practical side, from postal addresses to closing dates, in our guide to the free entry route.
Route 2: a prize competition that needs real skill
A prize competition is one where winning depends on skill, judgement or knowledge, not chance. A real skill competition can charge for entry without a free route.
The catch is how much skill. Section 14(5) of the Act says a skill question is treated as chance if it can't reasonably be expected to stop a significant proportion of people from entering, or from winning. A question like "What colour is a London bus?" won't stop anyone, so in law the draw is still decided by chance.
The ASA's advice is that a prize competition "must require entrants to exercise skill or judgment or to display knowledge", and to get legal advice on what's enough. In practice, a question hard enough to count also puts a lot of players off, which is why most raffle sites use the free entry route instead.
What else applies to a raffle website
The DCMS Voluntary Code
In November 2025 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport published a Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators. It isn't law, but signatories commit to it, and it's quickly become the standard players, payment providers and advertisers expect. It covers things like:
- 18+ only, with a reasonable age check
- no credit card payments over £250 a month per player, and none at all on instant win draws
- spending limits players can set, including £0
- clear rules and odds information, and publishing how winners are drawn
- delivering the advertised prize or a reasonable cash alternative, with no lower prizes or cancelled draws because sales are slow, and no change to the end date
- a proper complaints process
Our DCMS Code checklist goes through each part.
Advertising rules
Promotions are covered by the CAP Code, which the ASA enforces. Your ads and raffle pages need to be clear about how to enter, closing dates, prizes and any free route. Social platforms have their own rules on top, and most ask you to apply before you can advertise paid-entry prize draws. Our guide explains how to get approved to advertise on Facebook and Instagram.
Your terms and conditions
Every raffle needs clear terms: who can enter, how the free route works, closing dates, how winners are chosen and contacted, and what happens with cash alternatives. Good terms protect you as much as your players.
Data protection
You'll be handling names, addresses and payment details, so UK GDPR applies. Most businesses that process personal data also need to pay the data protection fee to the ICO, and marketing emails and texts need the right consent.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has its own gambling law, so the rules above don't map across exactly. If you're based there, or targeting players there, take advice for your setup.
Common mistakes that turn a raffle into a lottery
- Hiding the free entry route in the terms and conditions only
- Treating free entries differently, such as a lower limit or entries that never get added to the draw
- Making the free route harder than paying, such as asking for something extra
- Using a skill question so easy that almost everyone gets it right
- Changing the closing date or the prize because tickets aren't selling
How Reffle sets you up
Every Reffle site comes with a legal opinion letter from our solicitor confirming your setup, plus proper terms and conditions and the compliance pages the DCMS Code asks for. A legal opinion isn't a licence: it's a letter explaining why your raffles are set up properly, and it's what banks, payment providers and Meta ask to see.
The free entry route is built into every raffle, players confirm they're 18 or over before they play, and Reffle is a signatory to the DCMS Code.
Thinking of starting a raffle business? Book a free demo and we'll take you through how it all works.
Questions people ask
Do I need a gambling licence to run a raffle website?
Not if it's set up as a prize draw with a proper free entry route, or as a real skill competition, because then it isn't a lottery. We explain this in more detail in do you need a licence to run a raffle?
Can a raffle website be run as a business?
Yes. A business can't run a lottery, but a properly set up prize draw or competition site can be run commercially, like the 150+ raffle businesses that have launched on Reffle.
Is an easy question enough to make it legal?
No. If the question won't stop a significant proportion of people from entering or winning, the law treats the draw as chance.
Is the DCMS Code the law?
No, it's voluntary. The Code says failing to follow it isn't by itself a breach of an operator's legal responsibilities. But it sets the standard, and signatories agree to follow it.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. The law and guidance can change, so get advice for your own setup. Sources: Gambling Act 2005, section 14 and Schedule 2 (legislation.gov.uk); ASA advice on free entry routes; DCMS Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators (gov.uk). Last checked October 2026.
