The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) prize draw code lists 189 operator signatories after 10 operators were dropped on 1 September 2026, according to the change log on the GOV.UK publication page. The voluntary code, published on 20 November 2025, has applied in full to signatories since 20 May 2026.
The same update added two operators, Legion Comps and WinHive, and two service providers, Golden Egg Compliance and The Fair Draw Register. A further 34 companies, among them web developers, marketing agencies and compliance firms, sit on a separate list of “other relevant signatories”.
Who has signed the prize draw code
The change log does not name the 10 operators removed in September or give a reason for their removal. It is the largest single cut so far: earlier updates since March 2026 removed one to four operators at a time. Sweepstarz was removed in March, added back in May and removed again in July.
Operators on the current list include Omaze, BOTB, Raffle House, Daymade and Ringtone Riches. Research commissioned by DCMS in 2023 and cited in the Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators put the UK market at £1.3bn a year, with 7.4 million adult participants and more than 400 operators. On that count, fewer than half of the operators active in 2023 have signed.
The same research found that 88% of prize draw participants had also taken part in commercial gambling or lotteries over a 12-month period, against 60% of adults overall. Gambling groups have started to buy into the sector: ZEAL bought SevenCanyon for £33.8m in July 2026 to enter UK prize draws.
What signatories must do
Prize draws in Great Britain that offer a free entry route alongside paid entry do not need a licence under the Gambling Act 2005. Paid draws without a valid free route can be illegal lotteries, and the UK Gambling Commission has removed 252 illegal lotteries from social media. The code adds player protection, transparency and accountability rules for the free-entry sector. The main operator commitments are:
- players must be 18 or over, with reasonable age checks, and advertising must not target under-18s;
- credit card payments are capped at £250 per player per month and banned for instant win draws, including payments made through money service businesses;
- operators set monthly spend limits or let players set their own, with a £0 option;
- players can suspend their accounts for at least six months, with no marketing during that period;
- the free entry route, by post or an equally convenient alternative, is shown before purchase and carries the same chance of winning as a paid entry;
- operators may not cut a prize’s value, move a draw’s end date or cancel a draw because of low ticket sales.
Instant win draws may not make up the majority of an operator’s competitions. Draws must be overseen by an independent person unless they run on an auditable random computer process or a certified drawing machine. Operators are also responsible, through their contracts, for affiliates and draw-management partners following the code.
Next steps
Failing to follow the code is not in itself a breach of the law, according to the document, and it does not replace consumer or advertising rules. DCMS oversees the code, can delegate oversight to an industry trade body and can amend it after consulting signatories. Operators that join now must comply in full from the day they sign.
Complaints about a signatory go first to the operator or the relevant trade body, or to DCMS where there is no trade body. The government has said the code’s success “will determine whether the Government decides to take further action, including legislation”.
Source: Department for Culture, Media and Sport
