How to run a sweepstake: the complete guide
From setting it up to sharing the leaderboard — everything you need to run a sweepstake that actually works. Takes about three minutes with the right tool.
Step 1: Create your sweepstake
Start by giving your sweepstake a name — something obvious like "World Cup 2026 Office Draw" or "The Lads' Sweepstake". Then decide on two things before you do anything else:
Entry fee
How much each person pays to enter. There's no right answer — £5 keeps it casual, £10–£20 creates genuine excitement. Set it the same for everyone: equal stake, equal chance. If it's just for fun, you can skip the fee entirely.
What you're playing for
A money pot (entry fees go to the winner) or prizes (a trophy, a bottle, a day off). Both work — prizes often create better stories.
With playdrawr, you set these in under a minute and can change most of them any time before the draw.
Step 2: Add participants
You have two options here — add people yourself, or share a join link and let them sign up.
Add manually
Type in each person's name (and optionally their email). Good for smaller groups where you're coordinating everything yourself. You can add yourself too — just hit "Add myself" in the participants tab.
Share a join link
Drop your unique link into a group chat and let people add themselves. They enter their name and email — you see them appear instantly. The best option for offices, pubs, and remote teams.
Step 3: Collect entry fees before the draw
This is the most important rule of any sweepstake: nobody draws a team until they've paid. Once someone has a team, they have no incentive to hand over the money.
Drawr doesn't process payments — you collect directly (bank transfer, cash, whatever your group uses). Use the Participants tab to mark who has paid as money comes in. The payment summary at the top shows your running total vs outstanding at a glance.
If you've added emails, you can also send a payment reminder to all unpaid participants in one click — useful the night before the draw.
Step 4: Run the draw
Once everyone is in and paid, head to the Draw tab and hit "Run draw". Teams are assigned randomly — every participant gets one (or more, if you have more participants than teams). The draw is permanent once confirmed, so make sure you're happy with the participant list first.
If you've collected emails, every participant gets an automatic confirmation with their team. No need to screenshot results and paste them into a group chat.
Assignment modes
Step 5: Share the leaderboard
Once the draw is done, share your public leaderboard link in your group chat. Anyone can view it — no account or login needed. It shows each participant, their assigned team, and a running points total that updates as results come in.
The leaderboard keeps the sweepstake alive throughout the tournament. People check it after every match, which keeps the banter going even when their team had an early exit.
How scoring works
Points are awarded based on how far your assigned team advances. The further they go, the more you earn — so even an early group stage exit scores something.
Points may vary slightly by tournament format. Drawr updates scores automatically as results come in.
Common questions
What if there are more participants than teams?
Some people get two teams. The leaderboard tracks points per participant summed across all their teams, so whoever has the best-performing allocation wins.
What if someone drops out after the draw?
Their team stays in the draw — you can remove them from the participants list and either leave the slot empty or promote someone from your reserve list. You'll need to manually re-assign the team if you promote someone.
Do participants need to create an account?
No. Participants just need the join link to sign up, and the leaderboard link to follow the standings. No login required for either.
Can I change the entry fee after the draw?
Yes — settings like name, entry fee, and prize type can be updated any time. Assignment mode is the only thing that locks once the draw is run.
What is the payout for 1st, 2nd and 3rd?
That's up to you. Drawr shows who finishes where — the typical split is something like 60/25/15 but you can agree whatever works for your group.
Ready to run yours?
Free for up to 48 participants. Takes three minutes to set up.
Create your sweepstake →