Online prize competitions have become one of the most popular ways for people in the UK to win cars, motorbikes, tech and cash. If you’ve seen the adverts and wondered how it all actually works — and what keeps it fair — this guide walks through the whole journey, from choosing a competition to the moment a prize is handed over.
Step 1: Choose a competition
Every competition has four things you should look at before you enter:
- The prize — a car, a bike, a watch, a games console, a cash sum or a bundle.
- The ticket price — often from a few pence to a few pounds.
- The maximum number of tickets — this caps how many entries there can be, so you always know the most people you could be up against.
- The draw date and time — shown on the competition page.
Some competitions also carry instant-win prizes hidden against certain ticket numbers, so you can win something the moment you buy as well as staying in the main draw. You can browse everything currently running on the all competitions page, or jump straight to cars, cash or instant wins.
Step 2: Pick your tickets
Each ticket is one entry into the draw. More tickets means more entries, so your chance of winning goes up with each one — but so does what you spend. A sensible approach is to decide your budget first and stick to it. Our guide to cheap competition tickets explains how to judge value, and the chances guide shows how ticket caps affect your real chance.
Step 3: Answer the skill question
This is the part that makes it a prize competition under UK law rather than a game of pure chance. Before your entry counts, you answer a short question that needs some skill or knowledge. It applies to every entry, paid or free. If the answer is wrong, that entry does not go into the draw — so read the question properly. Our explainer on prize competitions vs prize draws vs raffles covers why this matters.
Step 4: The free postal route
Every Nitrous competition can also be entered for free by post. You send a postcard with your details, the competition name, the question and your answer, and it goes into exactly the same draw as a paid entry, on equal terms. The full instructions are in our terms, and our free postal entry guide explains it step by step.
Step 5: The draw — live, and checkable
When a competition closes, no more entries are accepted and the winning ticket is chosen at random from every confirmed entry. At Nitrous, main competition winners are picked live on draw night, so you can watch it happen on our live page. The draw method is fixed before the competition goes live and can’t be changed afterwards.
Then comes the part that matters most for trust: we publish the complete entry list — every ticket number — on the Winners & Results page. Anyone can open it and check the winning ticket against it. You can read more about how we keep draws fair on our Fair draws & Live Draw Night page.
Step 6: Getting your prize
If you win a main competition, the team contacts you directly and the prize is handed over directly — a bank transfer for cash, or delivery or collection for a car, bike or other physical prize. You’ll usually be asked to confirm your identity and age first. Instant-win game prizes are credited to your account balance as described for that game.
The whole journey at a glance
| Stage | What happens | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Choose | Pick a prize, check the ticket price, cap and draw time | All competitions |
| Enter | Choose tickets and answer the skill question | Competition page |
| Free route | Enter by postcard, same draw, equal terms | Terms |
| Draw | Winner picked at random, live on draw night | Live draws |
| Check | Full entry list published for every competition | Results |
| Prize | Winner contacted and prize handed over directly | FAQ |
What to look for in a good competition site
- A registered UK company you can look up (ours is Company No. 11316541 — see About).
- A clear skill question and a genuine free postal route.
- Published entry lists and real, named winners.
- Strict 18+ and UK-only rules, and support if you want to take a break.
Our guide on whether online competitions are legit goes into each of these in detail.
Ready to take a look? Browse the live competitions, watch a live draw or check past winners and entry lists. 18+ UK only. Please play responsibly — see our responsible play page.