Prize Draws

Our Value Rating compares the expected return of each draw against its ticket price. When total ticket numbers are known, we calculate:

Expected Value (EV) = Prize Value ÷ Total Tickets

We then divide that by the ticket price to get a ratio:

• Good Value — ratio ≥ 0.5 (you'd expect to get back at least 50p per £1 spent on average)
• Average Value — ratio 0.15–0.5
• Poor Value — ratio below 0.15

Where ticket numbers aren't available, we use the simple prize-to-price ratio and apply broader thresholds. The rating is a guide — the appeal of a draw is personal and winning always beats the odds!

Prize draws are competitions run by private companies where you buy a numbered ticket for a chance to win a specific prize — a car, house, cash, or other item. Unlike the National Lottery, which pools funds for multiple prizes and causes, prize draws have a fixed prize and typically a capped number of tickets, which means your odds are always known upfront.

Many prize draw companies also have a free postal entry route, meaning you don't always have to pay to participate.

All competition brands listed on CompareTheLotto.com are established UK companies. We only list operators whose APIs we can verify and who publicly publish their draw results and winners. That said, we always recommend:

• Checking reviews on Trustpilot before entering
• Reading the full terms and conditions on the operator's website
• Checking that a free postal entry route is available if required

We are not responsible for the conduct of individual operators — always enter at your own discretion.

Draws are sorted by their closing date by default, with the soonest closing draws at the top. The countdown shown on each card is updated live so you can see exactly how long is left to enter. Once a draw closes, ticket sales stop and the winner is selected — usually within a few days. Closed draws are automatically removed from our listing at the next data refresh.

We sync directly with each operator's API on a regular schedule. Ticket availability, percentage sold, and closing dates are updated automatically. However, there may be a short delay between a change on the operator's site and it appearing here, so always confirm the latest details on the operator's website before purchasing a ticket.