Are prize competitions gambling?
No, as long as one of two conditions is met. Under the Gambling Act 2005, a prize competition sits outside gambling law if entering takes a genuine element of skill, knowledge or judgement, or if there is a free entry route that stands equal to the paid one. Meet either test and the competition is not a lottery and needs no Gambling Commission licence. Strip both away and it becomes an unlicensed lottery, which is a criminal offence.
The two rules that decide it
It has nothing to do with how a site looks or what it calls itself. The line is drawn by section 14 of the Gambling Act 2005, and it comes down to two things:
- A genuine skill question. Every entrant answers a question that takes real skill, knowledge or judgement, and getting it wrong has to actually disqualify the entry. A question nobody could fail does not count.
- A free entry route of equal standing. Anyone can take part without paying, usually by post, on the same odds as a paying entrant and with no meaningful disadvantage.
What "equal standing" actually means
The free route cannot be a box-ticking exercise. It has to carry the same chance of winning, stay open for the whole entry period, and be signposted rather than buried in the small print.
This is where the market is weakest. A free route that is hard to find, or that quietly hands out fewer entries, is the practice most likely to draw regulatory attention. It is also a fair test to apply to any site you are weighing up.
How to check a site for yourself
Four questions separate a lawful competition from something that only looks like one:
- Is there a skill question, and would a wrong answer genuinely disqualify you?
- Is the free postal route explained clearly, with the same odds stated in plain terms?
- Does the site publish the total number of tickets, so you can work the odds out?
- Is the draw held on the published date whether or not the competition sells out?
What this is not
This is not a casino. There are no slots, no roulette, no blackjack and no betting on outcomes. Those are licensed gambling activities, and we will not build them.
It is not a lottery either. A lottery hands out prizes purely by chance, with no skill and no free route, which is exactly what the two rules above rule out.
Common questions
Does a skill question have to be difficult?
It has to be a real question that a wrong answer disqualifies. What matters in law is whether skill, knowledge or judgement is genuinely involved. A question written so that nobody can fail is the weak point operators get challenged on.
Is the free postal route really the same odds?
It has to be. A free entry receives the same number of entries and the same chance of winning as a paid one. If a site cannot say that plainly, treat it as a warning sign.
Do you need a Gambling Commission licence?
No. A competition that meets the skill and free-entry conditions falls outside the licensing regime. We hold no gambling licence because none is required for what we run.