Free entry route explained

Why a free entry route matters

Under section 14 of the Gambling Act 2005, an arrangement is a lottery if people pay to take part and prizes are allocated by chance. Lotteries need a licence or registration.

Schedule 2 to the Act sets out when an arrangement is treated as needing payment. Paragraph 8 says it is not treated as needing payment if people can choose to pay or to send a communication instead, and some conditions are met. No payment means no lottery. That is the legal basis for a free draw.

The Gambling Commission describes two kinds of free draw. In the first, every entry is free. In the second, there is a paid route and a free route side by side.

This is general information, not legal advice. Take advice from a solicitor before you launch.

The four conditions in Schedule 2

Paragraph 8 of Schedule 2 sets four conditions. Each one needs to be true in practice, not only on paper.

1. A real choice. Every eligible person can choose between paying and sending a communication.
2. No worse than paying. The free option is ordinary post or another method that is no more expensive or less convenient than paying.
3. Publicised. The choice is publicised in such a way as to be likely to come to the attention of people who might enter.
4. Same treatment. The way prizes are allocated does not treat free entrants differently from paying entrants.

The Commission's guidance adds that, for a free draw with a paid route, the free route must be promoted and displayed at the same level as the paid routes.

Which methods count as free

Paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 says that paying the normal rate to send a letter or make a call is not payment, as long as the price does not reflect the chance to win. Paragraph 8 then names ordinary post as an acceptable free route, and allows any other method that is neither more expensive nor less convenient than paying.

• Postal entry by first or second class post. The Gambling Commission says this counts as free. It says special delivery is not classed as free.
• Other methods. Any other route must be neither more expensive nor less convenient than paying. The ASA says a web address where people can enter for free is likely to count as a free entry route.
• Not acceptable. Premium-rate calls or texts, special delivery, or anything that costs more than the ordinary rate.

Most operators use a postal route. It is simple to explain and clearly meets the "ordinary post" wording in the Act. Niche runs a free postal entry route alongside the paid route on its skill-question competitions.

How prominent does it have to be

The ASA enforces the CAP Code. Rule 8.17.2 says any free entry route should be explained clearly and prominently. ASA guidance adds that it should be promoted at the same level as the paid route. The ASA treats it as a significant condition, so it belongs in the first advertising material people see, not only in the full terms.

In one ruling on a house raffle, the ASA found the postal entry instructions sat at the bottom of the web page, away from the prominent links to buy tickets. It said people could easily miss them, so the free route was not prominent enough.

In practice, that means:

• Put the free route on the competition page, close to the buy button, in readable type.
• Give as much detail as you give for paid entry: address, what to write, closing date.
• Repeat it in ads, emails and social posts where you promote the paid route.
• Give people enough time for postal entries to arrive before the draw. The DCMS voluntary code says the same.

Treating free and paid entries the same

Every valid entry must have an equal chance. That means free postal entries go into the same pot as paid tickets, and are drawn in the same way. The DCMS voluntary code says every entry, free or paid, must have an equal chance of winning each prize.

Do not make the free route harder than the paid one. Do not cap free entries below paid ones in a way you do not explain. Do not ask for extra information. Do not process free entries after the draw. And do not charge to claim a prize: the ASA says a promotion should never have a cost to claim.

Pricing matters too. The Act names ordinary post as an acceptable route, so the "no more expensive" test is aimed at other methods. But if a ticket costs less than a stamp, posting is the dearer option, and a regulator may doubt the choice is real. We think it is safer not to go below a stamp, and Niche's go-live check blocks competitions priced that low.

Do skill competitions need a free route?

Not usually. The ASA says prize competitions that need real skill or judgement are unlikely to need a free entry route. The question is whether your skill test is genuine. If a regulator or court decided it was not, the competition could be a lottery, and a free route is what would protect you.

That is why many operators run a skill question and a free route together. Our guide on skill questions for prize competitions covers the first half. For the wider picture, read are online prize competitions legal in the UK, and see how starting a competition website fits together. Pricing starts at £49 a month plus 5p per paid order,.

The DCMS voluntary code also has a free-entry clause. It says operators that run free-route draws as well as skill competitions should sign up to cover the free-entry side. See the DCMS code explained.

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