DCMS Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draws

Elite Competitions welcomed the launch of its industry’s new code of conduct published by the Dept. of Culture, Media and Sport on 20/11/2025.  

 

The guidelines - entitled Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators - were formulated by the government office in collaboration with executives from online prize draw companies.  

 

Set to come into force on May 20th, 2026, they will govern how the industry functions and protects players of internet prize draw and instant win competitions – who can now verify that the company they play with is trustworthy and meets a certain set of high standards.

 

The voluntary code’s guidelines set limits on players’ credit card spend and their total spend. It marks boundaries for what constitutes responsible play and lays out an intervention process for competition companies. The guidelines also insist on independent prize-giving procedures among other recommended secure competition practices.   

 

The code of conduct will be upheld by 23 online prize draw businesses - including Elite Competitions - each of which signed up to its new rules in September of this year.

 

Prize draws have exploded in popularity in recent years, with 7.4 million adults playing each year across the UK. The market is worth £1.3 billion annually.

 

Alex Beckett, CEO of Elite Competitions and founder of the industry’s first online prize draw company in 2016, described the code of practice as “a major milestone” and welcomed the “complete confidence” it would bring to online players.

 

Alex, 34, said: “The government’s code of conduct represents a major milestone for our industry. For the first time, prize draw operators have come together to set clear, consistent standards that protect players and build trust. By working closely and collaboratively with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, they have put transparency, fairness and integrity at the centre of how this sector moves forward.

 

“Players deserve complete confidence in how our draws are run, prizes are fulfilled and what safeguards exist to protect them. This new code gives them exactly that. Its clear rules mean players can check that the companies they play with are trustworthy operators. The Code ensures they can take part in online prize draw competitions knowing that operators are being held to the same high standards.

 

“In the eight years that Elite Competitions has run online prize draws and instant win competitions it has seen many operators join this industry, an industry that is today worth almost £1.5bn to the UK economy. But, until now, there hasn’t been a code of conduct or ethics in place to reassure competition entrants that companies are operating fairly and squarely.

 

“Elite Competitions greatly welcomes the Department’s code of good practice because it will safeguard players, stiffen consumer confidence in our industry and help it to grow.” 

 

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport’s document stipulates how companies in the industry must act around fair play, prize fulfilment, and sales and marketing among other areas of practice.

 

It says players should have the option to set monthly spend limits – as low as £0 – while operators can also enforce their own spending limits on users. Credit card spending is permitted in some cases but only up to a maximum of £250 per player each month, but credit cards should not be allowed for instant win games. Operators are advised to ensure the prize allocation is fair and independently verified, except when a computer or random audited mechanism is used in the draw.

 

In continued collaboration, operators are encouraged to share best practices across the sector and publish on their websites the measures they have in place around these areas. The DCMS will continue to work with companies to help amend, develop and evolve the code.

 

The Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators in all provides rules on:

 

·         Age limits

·         Complaints procedures

·         Credit card use

·         Total spends limits 

·         Account control

·         Responsible play 

·         Activity intervention

·         Support services 

·         Competition practices 

·         Free entry routes 

·         Contributions declarations 

·         Code compliance