Sweepstake rules: how to run one fairly (UK guide)

The basic rules (keep these fixed)

playdrawr enforces rule 1 by keeping the draw locked until the organiser confirms it, and rule 2 by using cryptographically random assignment. Once confirmed, teams can't be reassigned.

What counts as winning

In a standard World Cup sweepstake, the person assigned the team that wins the tournament wins the pot. Some sweepstakes add consolation prizes for the finalist, semi-finalists, or the team that scores the most goals. This is entirely optional but worth considering if your group is large — it keeps more people invested through the latter rounds.

What happens with more participants than teams

With 48 World Cup nations and, say, 60 office participants, some people will have two or three teams. The standard rule is: whoever has the best-performing team among their allocation wins.

playdrawr handles this automatically — the leaderboard tracks points per participant, summed across all their assigned teams.

Entry fee rules

The most important rule: nobody draws a team until they've paid.

Whatever you set, make it the same for everyone. Equal stake, equal chance.

Point scoring (if you use it)

A points-based leaderboard keeps the sweepstake interesting throughout the tournament. Most UK sweepstakes use something like:

This is exactly the scoring system playdrawr uses — built in, automatic, updated after every match.

Tiebreakers

Decide your tiebreaker in advance:

• Earlier draw timestamp (playdrawr records this automatically)
• Goal difference of their assigned team
• Whoever's team went furthest in the knockout rounds
• A play-off (flip a coin, arm wrestle, whatever suits your office)

Free-to-enter sweepstakes

You don't have to charge entry. A sweepstake works just as well with a company-funded prize. If there's no money involved, there are no legal complications around prize competitions in the UK. Paid-entry sweepstakes where the prize comes from the entry pool are generally considered social entertainment and not regulated gambling, but if in any doubt, keep the entry fee modest and the prize organiser-funded.