Player protection around prize draw competitions in the UK has been significantly strengthened through a new code of conduct by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Championed by Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross, the voluntary code has already been signed by 23 prize draw providers. This is an important milestone, as prize draws do not fall under the remit of the Gambling Act 2005, hence lack the otherwise stringent player protection measures mandated by the gambling framework.
The prize draws sector, however, is still a highly popular offering among the UK population, with the DCMS estimating the market’s value at £1.3bn annually in 2023 fueled by 7.4 million adult customers and more than 400 operators. A total of 88% of the player pool was also engaged with commercial gambling and lotteries.
What’s included in the provisions?
Since prize draws support both a paid and free entry route, the voluntary code spans across the two options. For paid entries, there will now be a £250 monthly cap on credit card entries, in addition to a blanket ban on credit card use for all instant-win competitions.
Signees also need to ensure that free entry routes are sufficiently publicised and accessible for all eligible players. Meanwhile, operators will have to implement measures to identify and mitigate against harm, such as signposting to support when necessary.
When signed, the code will also require robust age verification procedures to be put in place to ensure that access is only provided to players over the age of 18.
Harm prevention provisions dictate that operators have to plan for monitoring of any financial harm or distress, excessive participation, frequency of spend limit reached, behavioural patterns, and more.
Prize draw marketing also needs to be conducted in accordance with the UK’s ASA standards and be compliant with the CAP and BCAP codes of conduct.
Accountability and transparency measures bind operators to specific clauses that ensure the constant assessment of their compliance with the code, review of active third-party contractual obligations, best practices exchange, and close DCMS collaboration.
Code success could lead to legislation change
As previously mentioned, the voluntary code was welcomed by Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross:
“Millions of people enjoy entering prize draw competitions every year, and they should be confident that reasonable protections are in place. Thanks to the introduction of this code, that will be the case.
“I want to thank all of the operators who have already signed up, both for their cooperation in developing the code, and their commitment to following it moving forwards.”
James Oakes, President of Omaze – one of the code’s inaugural signees, added: “Omaze is proud to be a founding signatory of the new Code of Conduct. As the UK’s largest prize draw operator, we’ve consistently set industry-leading customer safeguards, whilst raising over £100m for charities across the country.
“As more and more companies offer prize draws, we welcome DCMS’s introduction of this Code and look forward to all operators committing to the same high standards.”
Whilst the code is not a legal requirement, the DCMS added that if proven successful, the UK Government might consider making it official legislation.