RaffleCompare

Is a prize competition site legit?

With hundreds of UK competition sites operating today, it is important to know how to tell a trustworthy operator from a sketchy one. This checklist walks you through the key signals to look for — and the red flags to avoid.

This is not legal or financial advice — it is a practical guide based on publicly available information.

The 5-point legitimacy checklist

✅ 1. Company registration on Companies House

Any legitimate UK business should be registered at Companies House. When checking a competition site:

  • Find the company name and registration number — it should be in the website's footer or T&Cs
  • Search for it on Companies House and confirm it shows as Active
  • Check the registered address matches what the site states
  • Look at filing history: a company that is years overdue on accounts is a warning sign

If no company name or number is listed at all, that is a serious red flag.

✅ 2. Free entry route (FERE)

Every legitimate UK prize competition must include a way to enter without paying. This is usually:

  • A postal address to write in with your entry
  • An online form that doesn't require payment
  • A free ticket request by email

Look for it in the site's FAQ, terms and conditions, or a dedicated "Free entry" page. If it is hard to find, vague, or missing entirely — do not enter.

✅ 3. Draw history and winner proof

Reputable operators make it easy to see past draws:

  • Winner announcements on their website or social media
  • Recorded draw videos on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram
  • Photos or testimonials from past winners collecting their prizes

If a site has been running for a year with no visible winners anywhere online, treat that as a major red flag.

✅ 4. Genuine contact details

There should be at least one reliable way to reach the operator:

  • A working email address (not just a form)
  • A telephone number
  • A physical address (the registered company address counts)

Test it: send a question before you enter. A reputable operator will reply within a reasonable time.

✅ 5. Trustpilot score and responses

Search for the operator on Trustpilot. Look at:

  • Overall score — a score below 3.5 with many recent reviews warrants caution
  • Review content — are people complaining about uncollected prizes, ignored support tickets, or sudden site closure?
  • Operator responses — do they reply professionally to negative reviews and resolve issues?

A site with zero Trustpilot reviews at all is not automatically bad — it may be new — but it means you have less to go on.

Red flags to watch out for

  • "Guaranteed win" or misleading odds language
  • Pressure tactics: "Only 5 tickets left!" with no verifiable entry count
  • No clear draw date or draw mechanism described in T&Cs
  • Prizes that seem wildly above what the entry income could cover
  • Multiple social media accounts that have gone silent for months
  • A website that was only registered in the past few weeks (check via WHOIS)
  • No physical address anywhere on the site

How RaffleCompare checks operators

For every operator in our directory we manually check:

  • Companies House registration and status
  • Presence of a free entry route (with a link to evidence)
  • Trustpilot score and review count
  • Whether contact details are present
  • Draw history visibility

We record the date we last checked so you can see how fresh the data is. We update checks periodically but always verify the latest information yourself before entering a competition.

Frequently asked questions

What if a site has great prizes but no Trustpilot reviews? It could be new or simply not well known yet. Check Companies House, confirm a free entry route exists, and look for draw recordings on YouTube or social media before entering.

Is a high Trustpilot score a guarantee the site is safe? No. Trustpilot scores can be inflated by review requests sent only to happy customers. Use it as one signal alongside the other checks in this list.

What do I do if I think I've been scammed? Contact the operator first. If you paid by card, contact your bank about a chargeback. You can also report the site to Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk) or Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk).

Does RaffleCompare endorse the operators in its directory? No. We list operators and share public trust signals. Inclusion in our directory is not an endorsement, and our checks are a snapshot in time. Always do your own due diligence.