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Who wouldn’t want to land a multimillion-pound house in a desirable area? That seductive prospect is one reason for the rise in the UK of eye-catching prize draws. Taking such punts could well become a national pastime, and a lucrative opportunity for operators, if regulators continue to remain relatively hands-off.
Gaming companies often thrive amid legal loopholes and grey areas. In the US, where prediction betting has won millions of adherents, behemoths Kalshi and Polymarket frame their activities as financial contracts, which means they don’t get caught by gambling laws. Prize draws in the UK, meanwhile, escape charity lottery regulation, which caps winnings and demands a fifth of proceeds go to good causes, by offering a free means of entry or asking questions that require some skill to answer.
Almost half of the 400-plus draw operators have been set up since 2020, according to a 2025 government study. Omaze, a US-based company known for offering UK customers access to multimillion-pound house draws, has risen in five years to command an estimated three-fifths of the £2bn-odd market.
Second largest is the Best of the Best brand owned by Winvia, which floated on London’s junior market in November, and whose business is divided between Romanian online gaming and UK prize draws. It has plans to expand via acquisition and boost its 4.7 per cent market share. This week, Winvia announced the £12mn purchase of motor prize specialist Rev Comps.
Companies are finding new ways to attract those who fancy a flutter, such as subscription plans. Winvia reported that prize draw revenue had risen 40 per cent last year. Yet Omaze’s top-line growth slowed to 20 per cent last year, from 50 per cent in each of the preceding two years, according to Companies House filings. Both beat the National Lottery: in recent years, its sales have grown at roughly a 5 per cent annual rate, though new operator, Allwyn, has just overhauled its systems in the hope of offering more vigorous competition.
There’s always the risk, when different companies offer similar experiences but are subject to different regulations, that the regulatory goalposts eventually move. Customers presumably do not see lotteries and draws as fundamentally different beasts. But so far, the UK government has merely drawn up a voluntary code of conduct for prize draw operators. That came into effect only this week, making more near-term action unlikely.
Draw operators therefore continue to enjoy scope to grow, merge and upscale often outdated technology to better tap into social media. Despite the slowing of Omaze’s sales growth, it is hard to believe that UK households have yet maxed out on dreams of getting rich quick.
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