How to Pick a Random Winner Fairly: A Giveaway Guide

Write the rules before you collect entries

Decide who can enter, how many entries each person gets, when the giveaway closes, how many winners you will pick and how winners will be contacted. Put all of it in your announcement. Changing the rules after people have entered is the fastest way to lose their trust.

• Who is eligible (age, country, customers, followers)
• How to enter, and whether bonus entries exist
• The closing date and time, including the time zone
• How many winners there are and what each one receives
• How and when winners will be announced and contacted
• What happens if a winner does not reply, for example a backup draw after 48 hours

Build a clean entry list

Collect every valid entry in one place and clean the list before you draw. Remove duplicates unless your rules grant extra entries, remove accounts that do not meet the rules and fix spelling so every name is readable on the wheel.

In Spin Master every line of the list becomes one slice, so a name that appears three times has three chances. That is exactly right for bonus entries and exactly wrong if duplicates crept in by accident.

Very long lists are hard to read on a wheel. If you have hundreds of entries, number them (1 to 300) and draw a number, or run the draw in rounds and say so in advance.

Draw in public if you can

Fairness is easier to believe when people can watch. Share your screen on a live stream, or record your screen while you paste the list. Show the list for a few seconds, spin once and read out the result. Do not stop and redo a spin because you dislike the outcome.

• Show the full entry list before you spin
• Spin once per prize and announce the result straight away
• Keep the Results list visible: it records each winner in order
• Save the recording or a screenshot as proof

Picking more than one winner

Turn on Remove winner after spin so the same person cannot win twice. Spin once per prize, and say whether you go from the biggest prize to the smallest or the other way round. Spin one or two extra times for backup winners in case someone does not respond, and note the order in which they were drawn.

Verify before you announce

Check that the winner meets every rule before you celebrate. If they do not, say so openly and spin again. Contact winners through the same channel they entered from and give them a clear deadline to reply.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Changing the entry list after seeing the results
• Spinning repeatedly until a favourite wins
• Forgetting that duplicate names increase a person's chances
• Not recording the draw
• Announcing a winner before checking eligibility

A note on local rules

Giveaways are regulated differently around the world, and platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Facebook have their own promotion rules. Check the rules that apply to you before you run a promotion, especially if entering requires a purchase or personal data. This guide is general information, not legal advice.