What is the best entry fee for an office sweepstake?

The UK standard

The key principle: make it the same for everyone

Whatever you decide, charge the same amount to every participant. Equal stake, equal chance. Charging different amounts creates a perception of unfairness even if the draw is genuinely random — someone who paid £2 feels differently about losing to someone who paid £5, even if the pot is shared fairly.

This also keeps administration simple. One amount, collected once, tracked once.

How to calculate the prize pot

The prize pot is simply: (number of participants) × (entry fee). A few examples:

Consider whether you want to split the pot or give it all to the winner. A split (e.g. 70% winner, 30% runner-up) keeps more people engaged through to the final.

When to go free-to-enter

A free sweepstake — where the prize is funded by the company or organiser rather than entry fees — is often the better choice for office environments. The reasons:

• Higher participation. Removing the fee removes the one barrier for people who might otherwise opt out.
• No awkwardness. Collecting money from colleagues can feel uncomfortable, particularly across seniority levels.
• No legal complexity. A free-to-enter competition with a separately funded prize is unambiguously fine from a legal standpoint.
• Better engagement optic. A company-funded prize signals that the event is genuinely for the team, not just a way to collect money.

Common free prizes: a half-day off, a team lunch, an Amazon voucher, a charity donation in the winner's name, or a bottle of something nice.

Tracking who has paid

The most important rule is: no payment, no draw ticket. playdrawr has a built-in payment tracker — mark each participant as paid or unpaid and run the draw only when everyone is settled. This prevents the awkward situation of someone who "forgot" to pay winning the pot.

For office sweepstakes, bank transfer or a payment app (Monzo, Revolut, PayPal) is cleaner than cash, especially for hybrid teams. Ask everyone to transfer before a set deadline and track receipts in playdrawr.