Every draw runs on BaseComp, the platform we use. Before any tickets go on sale, BaseComp seals away a random number and the exact method that will be used to pick the winner. The winning ticket itself isn't decided yet - it can't be, because it's worked out from the total number of tickets actually sold, which nobody knows until the competition closes. At that point, the sealed number and the final ticket count are combined to land on the winning ticket. So the method is fixed in advance, but the outcome stays open right up to the close.

Before the first ticket is sold, a set of ticket numbers is chosen at random to be instant winners, then encrypted and sealed. They stay locked and unreadable all the way through the competition - so not even we know which numbers hold an instant win. Which of those numbers actually get bought, and by whom, is entirely down to how the competition plays out. They're all live from the very start: the moment you buy a ticket, you'll know if it's one of them. Nothing can be moved, added, or held back, because nobody can see them to change them.

The method behind every draw is sealed before sales open, and the platform that seals it - BaseComp - is separate from the competition itself. Once it's locked in, the way the winner is chosen can't be altered by anyone. But the winner isn't predetermined: it's calculated only when sales close, from the final ticket count. So the process is fixed in advance while the outcome stays genuinely open. The fairness is built into the system, not something you have to take on trust.

Yes. The winning ticket is worked out using a number generated at random by the system, not chosen by anyone, combined with the total tickets sold once the competition closes. Because that number is sealed before anyone enters, and the final ticket count isn't known until the end, there's no way to steer the result towards any particular ticket or person. Instant-win numbers are drawn at random the same way.

Before sales, the ingredients of the draw - the random number behind the main prize, the instant-win numbers, and the method used to pick the winner - are scrambled so they can't be read, and turned into one unique code. That code is published on the competition page before any tickets sell. Change a single ingredient and the code no longer matches, so the way the draw works is fixed from the moment it goes live. The winning ticket itself is only calculated later, when sales close.

Absolutely, and you don't need to be technical. When a competition ends, everything that was sealed is revealed. You take those details, run them through any free SHA-256 tool, and confirm the code matches the one published before sales. Copy, paste, compare. If they match, you've proven the draw used exactly the method and the number sealed before anyone bought a ticket.

If you win a grand prize via a live draw or an auto draw. you'll be notified instantly - by email and in your account. For instant-win prizes, once you've bought your tickets, head to the Tickets section of your account and reveal your numbers to see if any of them have won.

You can claim any prize in the Prizes section of your account. There you can confirm your delivery address, or choose to convert your prize into instant credit or cash instead. Once that's done, your win is passed to our fulfilment team, who'll keep you updated by email on its progress. Most prizes are with our winners within 5 days, though it can take up to 10 days depending on the item and postal location. Pre-order items are shipped as close to release day as possible, unless otherwise stated. Wins received over the weekend won't be processed until Monday morning, when the team are back in the office. If you've won a prize and haven't heard from us, or you can't see the win in your account, please email our winners team at [email protected].

BaseComp is the platform WinWink runs on. It seals and verifies every draw independently, which is what lets us offer competitions where the method is set and sealed up front, and the result is checkable by anyone. You can find out more at Basecomp.io