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Original poster

To think this is not how raffles work?

221 replies

PopcornAndPizza · 16/07/2025 05:37

Hotly contested discussion at work and although light-hearted I now think I'm either losing the plot or almost all my work colleagues are all weird.

A colleague was pleased yesterday that she had won a coffee voucher at her grandsons school raffle. She mentioned her prize was the 8th top prize and that unfortunately her ticket didn't win any more prizes after that including the top prize which was a tablet.

I was only half paying attention until the other colleague (that I think is right) then said well surely they announced that one first? To which she replied well no they did that one last to build suspense.

To help the other colleague I tried to point out that's not how it works because then your ticket isn't actually in with the chance of winning the top prize but only me and this one other lady had this viewpoint, everyone else couldn't see the issue.

It's not us is it, that's not how raffles work? Surely the top prize should be drawn first so everyone has an equal chance at winning?

OP posts:
MalcolmMoo · 16/07/2025 09:09

I’ve never given this much thought but I agree with you. If they’re going to order the prizes in 1st to 10th etc. then everyone should have the highest chance they can for the top price and that should be drawn first.

In fact if they do the 1st prize last those who haven’t won a prize yet would actually have a higher chance of winning compared to the chance they had for the previous prizes.

That all said I do t think I could get too worked up about it as raffles are never that serious and usually for charity etc.

Ollybob · 16/07/2025 09:03

Every single ticket when sold has an equal chance of winning, that's what makes it fair.
Not allowing anyone to collect more than one prize is wrong if they still had tickets in the draw unless it was stated at the time of purchase.

pizzaHeart · 16/07/2025 09:00

JustJoinedRightNow · 16/07/2025 05:45

OP you are correct. First one drawn wins the top prize.

This^

NescafeAndIce · 16/07/2025 08:58

zaxxon · 16/07/2025 08:48

You people arguing about "chances of winning" are getting muddled because you're actually talking about different things. There are many sets of odds here.

At the outset of the raffle, every ticket has the same chance of winning a) any prize and b) the top prize.

As the prizes are given out, each remaining ticket's chance of winning the remaining prizes will stay equal to the other tickets.

But each PERSON'S chances of winning will not be equal. That will depend on how many tickets they bought in the first place, and whether any have won.

I think it's the conflation of each ticket's odds and each person's odds that is causing the confusion.

Good way of thinking about it.

NescafeAndIce · 16/07/2025 08:56

CyberStrider · 16/07/2025 08:48

The odds matter at the point you buy the ticket before anything is drawn, yes the odds change as tickets are drawn but that doesn't change that when you bought the ticket, that ticket had the same chance of winning the big prize as every other ticket.

I was going to disagree with you, but I think I see what you mean.

Before the draw, each ticket is subject to the equivalent odds of being removed - but that affects each person in different ways.

queenMab99 · 16/07/2025 08:56

DappledThings · 16/07/2025 05:42

There are loads of different ways of doing it. Sometimes all prizes have a corresponding ticket attached. So the "top" prize is ticket 537 and whenever 537 is called that is won whether it's first or ninth.

Or each winner gets to pick their own prize.

When the prizes are labeled with corresponding tickets, that is usually called a tombola, not a raffle.

WhySoManySocks · 16/07/2025 08:55

But all tickets do have an equal chance of getting the top prize, if you calculate probability for it at the start of the raffle. If you do it after some tickets have been drawn then duh, not all tickets have a chance anymore. If you calculated after the top prize is drawn, then you could argue that all tickets have a 0 chance if winning except one which has a 100% chance of winning, and claim that’s unfair.

tl;dr It’s an ok and not unfair, stop complaining.

NescafeAndIce · 16/07/2025 08:53

Needmorelego · 16/07/2025 08:50

If there's 20 prizes and you buy 20 tickets you could potentially win all 20 prizes.
So an equal chance.

Show quote history

No, the odds of YOU winning each prize aren't equal in that scenario. The odds change with each ticket that is drawn.

CheerybleBrothers · 16/07/2025 08:52

TwoToots · 16/07/2025 06:33

That’s not the point though. There are rules for raffles in the uk.

https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/public-and-players/guide/fundraising-prize-draws-raffles-and-lotteries

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Yes, but none of those rules specify anything like what the OP is complaining about. It’s certainly not a government rule that the first ticket drawn gets the top prize or first pick.

Needmorelego · 16/07/2025 08:51

@SociableAtWork I've never known a whole strip being counted as one entry.
If a raffle is doing that then they are doing it wrong.

TwoToots · 16/07/2025 08:50

Shenmen · 16/07/2025 08:18

And the rules are clear that either way is acceptable.

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That’s not what I was responding to though, with the link.

Needmorelego · 16/07/2025 08:50

NescafeAndIce · 16/07/2025 08:31

What do you mean by an "equal chance"? Your chance of winning is affected by how many tickets others buy, which you can't do anything about, as well as how many you buy.

Show quote history

If there's 20 prizes and you buy 20 tickets you could potentially win all 20 prizes.
So an equal chance.

SociableAtWork · 16/07/2025 08:49

zaxxon · 16/07/2025 08:19

A little prize is meant to be a nice consolation afterwards that at least you got something once the decent prizes were gone; not a spoiler that excludes you from any chance of the top prize whilst it still hasn't yet been won

It's still a consolation whether you win it before or after the big prize draw, though. People are talking as if the smaller prizes are valueless, but they do have value that offsets your changed odds.

Look at this way. I enter a raffle and buy enough tickets that I have a 100-to-1 chance of winning the big prize.

Outcome A: I walk away with a bottle of wine (small prize), having had (say) a 105-to-1 chance of winning the big prize, since my wine-winning ticket dropped out of the running.

Outcome B: I maintain my more favourable 100-to-1 odds throughout, but walk away with nothing.

Edited

It’s not a consolation if it means you now can’t possibly win the big prize! It’s only a consolation if your chance of winning the big prize has been and gone.

Particularly annoying if the raffle was advertised as “First Prize - Tablet worth £300” - the clue is in the name - first! First ticket drawn out wins the tablet.

Even more annoying if you bought a strip of 5 tickets - thinking you get 5 chances to win a prize - but the whole strip was put in the bucket, giving you only 1 chance to win a prize (which ended up being a voucher or crappy bath salts and not the FIRST prize tablet).

CyberStrider · 16/07/2025 08:48

The odds matter at the point you buy the ticket before anything is drawn, yes the odds change as tickets are drawn but that doesn't change that when you bought the ticket, that ticket had the same chance of winning the big prize as every other ticket.

zaxxon · 16/07/2025 08:48

You people arguing about "chances of winning" are getting muddled because you're actually talking about different things. There are many sets of odds here.

At the outset of the raffle, every ticket has the same chance of winning a) any prize and b) the top prize.

As the prizes are given out, each remaining ticket's chance of winning the remaining prizes will stay equal to the other tickets.

But each PERSON'S chances of winning will not be equal. That will depend on how many tickets they bought in the first place, and whether any have won.

I think it's the conflation of each ticket's odds and each person's odds that is causing the confusion.

MeowCatPleaseMeowBack · 16/07/2025 08:41

BoredZelda · 16/07/2025 08:24

All tickets do have the same chance, when you buy the ticket. There are 8 prizes and let’s say 200 tickets. The odds of winning the top prize don’t change no matter which order you draw it in.

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You buy one ticket.

You don't win any of the seven smaller prizes. Your one ticket has odds of 1/193 of winning the grand prize.

You win small prize #5. You have no more tickets in the draw so your odds of winning the grand prize are zero.

GeorgeMichaelsCat · 16/07/2025 08:31

PopcornAndPizza · 16/07/2025 07:40

See even that would have been fairer. I just think the fact they so obviously did it going from the less good prizes to the best is what made me and the colleague think it wasn't fair as even though you would have won a prize you didn't have the chance to win all the prizes.

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That's how I view it as well. First one picked 'wins' and can pick the top prize or something else depending on their tastes.

NescafeAndIce · 16/07/2025 08:31

Needmorelego · 16/07/2025 08:21

I have only ever known raffles where the big prize is picked LAST.
Surely it's to encourage people to buy more than one ticket.
Most people are encouraged to buy a strip - which is 5 tickets.
You could then win 5 prizes or no prizes.
If all your tickets have been picked you are "out of the game" and can't win any more.
If you want a completely equal chance you need to buy as many tickets as there are prizes.

What do you mean by an "equal chance"? Your chance of winning is affected by how many tickets others buy, which you can't do anything about, as well as how many you buy.

3luckystars · 16/07/2025 08:29

BoredZelda · 16/07/2025 08:24

All tickets do have the same chance, when you buy the ticket. There are 8 prizes and let’s say 200 tickets. The odds of winning the top prize don’t change no matter which order you draw it in.

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The odds do change if you are not actually in the draw though. You have zero chance.

NescafeAndIce · 16/07/2025 08:28

BoredZelda · 16/07/2025 08:24

All tickets do have the same chance, when you buy the ticket. There are 8 prizes and let’s say 200 tickets. The odds of winning the top prize don’t change no matter which order you draw it in.

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Yes they do if your ticket is taken out to win a lesser prize! If you buy 2 tickets to win a big prize, whatever your odds were ( 2 in 500 say) are now halved (to 1 in 500) of winning the big prize.

If you're looking at 'chances of winning any prize, no matter how small' then yes, your chances remain the same. But the chance of winning the top prize changes with every ticket that's removed along the way. That's why it's fairest to draw that one first.

DucksGiven2 · 16/07/2025 08:27

I've sometimes been put off entering a raffle because I wouldn't want the big prize although I wouldn't mind a smaller one. There was one recently at work where the grand prize was an enormous teddy bear - I have no use for that whatsoever, don't know anyone who'd want it as a gift, frankly it would be a millstone round my neck. The lesser prizes were boxes of chocolate which I wouldn't have minded winning.

BoredZelda · 16/07/2025 08:24

PopcornAndPizza · 16/07/2025 06:47

Once your colleague had won with ticket 326, she still had 327, 328, 329 and 330 that could win a bigger prize.

But it's not about having 4 tickets that could still win the tablet it's that all the tickets should have the same chance of winning the top prize which is presumably known to be superior and therefore used as a top prize to gain more sales.

Our argument was that all tickets should have a chance to win the main prize which is why you draw that prize first.

All tickets do have the same chance, when you buy the ticket. There are 8 prizes and let’s say 200 tickets. The odds of winning the top prize don’t change no matter which order you draw it in.

3luckystars · 16/07/2025 08:22

AgileLilacHelper · 16/07/2025 06:18

Does anyone really go into a raffle expecting or hoping to win the big prize (or any prize)?

The odds are extremely low, so any prize is a win - I’m surely not the only one who’s just buying a ticket because it’s fundraising for x school or y charity… it’s essentially a donation.

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yes every time. I always think I’m going to win everything and have it all planned the minute I buy the ticket.

I sometimes don’t enter competitions thinking ‘I don’t really want that prize’ I’m
so convinced I’m going to win everything that I don’t want the hassle of trying to reallocate the prize , 😂

CyberStrider · 16/07/2025 08:21

TwoToots · 16/07/2025 08:02

But they didn’t. That’s the point. She couldn’t have won the big prize as her ticket wasn’t in the draw anymore.

You could raffle a car and sell 500 tickets then draw 499 out and give them a packet of Haribo and then the last ticket is the only one that can get the car.

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At the point she bought the ticket and before anything was drawn, she had the same chance of winning the big prize as anyone else.

The fact that in his scenario you had to not win a smaller prize and then be drawn for the big prize doesn't change that.

Needmorelego · 16/07/2025 08:21

I have only ever known raffles where the big prize is picked LAST.
Surely it's to encourage people to buy more than one ticket.
Most people are encouraged to buy a strip - which is 5 tickets.
You could then win 5 prizes or no prizes.
If all your tickets have been picked you are "out of the game" and can't win any more.
If you want a completely equal chance you need to buy as many tickets as there are prizes.

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