How to run a World Cup sweepstake for a remote or hybrid team

The challenge with remote sweepstakes

Traditional sweepstakes rely on being in the same place: passing a hat around, collecting cash over a desk, writing names on a whiteboard. None of that translates to a hybrid team without someone spending a disproportionate amount of time chasing people on Slack and trying to make a spreadsheet work across time zones.

The digital sweepstake solves this completely. One person sets it up. Everyone gets a link. Nobody needs to be in the same building — or even the same country.

Setting up a remote-friendly sweepstake

Create your sweepstake on playdrawr. Add everyone by name — include email addresses so the system notifies participants of their team assignment automatically.

Run the draw at a set time and share it publicly — drop the link in your main team Slack channel, your team WhatsApp group, and your company all-hands update. The share link works on any device, no login needed. Someone checks it on their commute at 7am, someone else checks it from their home office at 9am — same leaderboard, same draw, same experience.

Making it feel like an event remotely

The hardest part of a remote sweepstake isn't the logistics — it's the atmosphere. You can recreate the draw night energy digitally:

• Run a short Zoom or Teams call for the draw reveal — share your screen and let people watch the teams being assigned live
• Drop a message in Slack when draw results are ready: "Results are in — [link] — who drew England?"
• Create a dedicated sweepstake channel in Slack or Teams where people can post reactions and talk football for eight weeks

Payment for remote teams

Without being able to collect cash at a desk, you have a few options:

• Bank transfer to the organiser's personal account before the draw
• A shared payment app like Monzo or Revolut
• Company-funded prize (zero payment faff, just a prize from the business)

playdrawr's payment tracking lets you mark each participant as paid or unpaid regardless of how they pay. When everyone has paid, run the draw.

Keeping remote participants engaged throughout the tournament

playdrawr's leaderboard is live and shareable — anyone can check standings at any time from anywhere. Post weekly leaderboard updates in your team channel. Announce when teams get knocked out. Celebrate quarter-final qualifications.

Eight weeks of sporadic football chat is one of the better forms of low-effort team building available to remote managers — and the sweepstake is the structure that makes it happen naturally.