The future of prize draws and responsible fundraising
By Tam Watson – Head of Operations, Jumbo Interactive UK
The Prize Competition Council’s first board meeting
Earlier in the year, I wrote about the introductory meeting that brought the Prize Competitions Council (PCC) into being. This month, it became a functioning reality: the PCC held its first Board Meeting, and the council now stands as a properly constituted body representing more than 50 operators across the prize competitions sector.
Introducing the PCC Board Members
I’m proud to say I sit on that board, alongside fellow directors from across the sector, big and small: Chris Jennings of Winvia Entertainment PLC, Declan Murray of Pristine Competitions, Pete Toye of The Giveaway Guys. Also, Oliver Donnelly of McKinney Competitions, Ian Buckley of Paragon Competitions, and Daniel Swann of Two Fat Ladies Competitions. Chairing us is George McGregor, appointed as the PCC’s independent Chair. This was an important choice, as it signals from day one that the council is built to represent the industry as a whole, not any single operator’s interests.
We’ve been elected for a two-year term, and there’s real work ahead. With the Voluntary Code of Good Practice now in effect, the council’s job is to turn a set of shared principles into consistent, everyday practice across a fast-growing market. The upcoming members’ meeting will be the next opportunity for operators across the sector to engage directly with that agenda, and I’d encourage anyone with a stake in prize competitions to take part.
Expanding the model: from ELM to EPDM
With that foundation now in place, it’s worth talking about where it leaves the charity and good causes sector. Gatherwell and StarVale, with decades of experience operating as External Lottery Managers (ELM), provide licensed, regulated infrastructure to society lotteries, raising over £880M in the process. We’re now seeing that same model extending naturally into prize draws. Whether you call it Prize Draws-as-a-Service (PDaaS), or External Prize Draw Management (EPDM), the offering is the same one that’s underpinned our ELM work for decades: let organisations that aren’t lottery or prize draw specialists benefit from our expertise, compliance discipline, and operational infrastructure, without having to over-invest in it themselves.
As prize draws sit outside the lottery regime, it opens the model to a much wider range of partners than a traditional society lottery can: brands, membership bodies, and organisations that want to build direct engagement and fundraising income through a well-run prize mechanic, rather than a conventional raffle.
Friends of No1 CopperPot
Friends of No1 CopperPot is a good illustration of this in practice. Membership organisations, such as credit unions, are increasingly looking to the prize draw model to deepen engagement with their members and open up fundraising avenues beyond their traditional offerings. It’s a reminder that this isn’t a niche extension of the lottery market; it’s a genuinely broader route for good causes and member organisations alike to diversify how they raise funds and reward the people who support them.
Toyota Good For Cricket Prize Draw
The other benefit of a prize draw mechanism is the flexibility in prize offerings, as we see in Toyota’s Good For Cricket. Now in its second year, working with Toyota (GB) Plc and the Home Nations’ cricket boards, Gatherwell delivered the platform and management, raising nearly £300,000 in 2025, with 100% of sales going directly to grassroots cricket clubs. This kind of partnership is only possible once a credible operator with a demonstrable track record can offer end-to-end infrastructure, delivering a high-value, well-run promotion for the brand and income that a good cause wouldn’t otherwise receive.
Responsible growth
That’s precisely why the PCC’s work matters alongside this expansion of services we’re excited to offer the fundraising community. As EPDM opens the prize draw model to a wider set of operators and causes, the industry needs the same discipline that comes as standard in regulated lotteries: transparency with players, robust safeguards, and clear accountability.
Contact our team to learn more about EPDM or to get involved in the PCC’s upcoming members’ meeting.
