Frequently Asked Questions

Is it actually random, or can the result be picked?

The winner is chosen on the server using a cryptographic random source, weighted by each name's slice size, and the result is written to the draw history before it is sent to any browser. Nothing about the outcome is decided in a viewer's screen, so there is nothing there to tamper with.

The ordering is the part that matters. Because the result is recorded before it is transmitted, a viewer who reloads is re-reading a decision that has already been made, not triggering a new one.

Can the organiser rig it?

Not through the app. The server picks before any browser knows the result, and every past spin stays listed with a timestamp that spinning again does not overwrite. If someone claims a draw was rigged, the history is the record to check against.

The honest limit of that claim: an organiser can still spin repeatedly and only tell people about the spin they liked. What they cannot do is make the earlier spins disappear, so a history with three draws in it and an announcement of one invites exactly the question it should. A scheduled spin closes the gap completely, because nobody is at the keyboard when it fires.

Why did the same person win twice? That looks rigged.

Repeats are much more likely than intuition suggests. With 30 entrants and 10 draws there is roughly a 55% chance that at least one name comes up twice, which is more likely than not. Fair draws cluster; it is draws that never repeat and never skip anyone that would indicate something interfering.

If each name should only come up once, turn on elimination before you start rather than arguing about probability afterwards.

Does the wheel really show the true odds?

Yes. Slice size is drawn directly from weight, so a slice that looks three times bigger is exactly three times more likely to win. That is deliberate: it means the odds are visible to everyone watching instead of living in a settings panel only the organiser can see.

What if I need to redo a draw?

Just spin again. The previous result stays in the history rather than being erased, so there is a full record of every attempt, not just the final one.

If a redraw was necessary, whether for an ineligible winner or a dropped connection, say so publicly and keep both results. A history with an explained anomaly in it is credible. A history with a gap in it is not.

Is it free?

Yes. The wheel on the home page needs no account at all, and creating an account to build shared wheels and run live spins does not cost anything either.

Do I need an account?

Not for a basic draw. The free wheel on the home page runs entirely in your browser. An account adds a shareable link that spins live on every screen at once, a draw made on the server, a timestamped history, self-service entries, scheduling and stream mode.

Rule of thumb: if a prize is involved or somebody might dispute the result, use an account. Otherwise the free wheel is the whole job.

Do people need an account to join a draw?

No. Anyone with the share link can watch a spin, and if you have turned on public entries they can submit their own name without signing up for anything.

Can I stop the same person winning twice?

Turn on elimination mode and each winner drops off the wheel after they are picked, so a raffle works through the list without repeats. Turn it off again and everyone is back on for the next round.

On the free wheel, a name you listed twice to double its odds loses only one of its two slices. That is usually what people want from extra raffle tickets, but it surprises anyone expecting one win to remove them entirely.

Can I give some entries better odds than others?

Yes. Set a weight per name on an account-backed wheel, or simply list a name more than once on the free wheel. Either way the slices are drawn to scale, so the picture matches the real probability.

Keep weights small and round. 1, 2 and 5 are legible to an audience in a way that 7 against 13 against 22 is not.

Is there a limit to how many names I can add?

The free wheel takes up to 500. Account-backed wheels handle classroom, team and giveaway lists of hundreds of entries without trouble. Past roughly 150 names the slices become too thin to print a readable label, so the wheel drops the text rather than overlapping it. The draw itself is unaffected.

If the audience needs to read individual names on a long list, draw in rounds: spin to pick a group of ten, then spin again among those ten.

Can I run this during a livestream or in a classroom presentation?

Yes. Open the wheel in stream mode for a clean, full-screen view with no site chrome, suitable for OBS as a browser source or for projecting to a room. You can still trigger the spin from another tab or device, so you are not visibly alt-tabbing mid-draw.

Can a draw happen without me being there?

Yes. Schedule a spin and the wheel draws itself at the set time, once or repeating daily or weekly. Anyone on the share link sees a live countdown and then the result.

This is the strongest option for a contested draw, because nobody is at the keyboard when it fires. 'The organiser kept spinning until they liked it' stops being a coherent accusation.

Do I need to install anything?

No. It runs in a browser on any device: desktop, tablet or phone.

Can I prove a prize was actually paid out?

Yes. Log what a winner received on the winners page and optionally publish the receipt, so anyone can see the name, the prize and the date without you having to explain it after the fact.

This is the step most giveaways skip and the one that decides whether people enter the next one. The question in an audience's mind is rarely 'was the draw random?' It is 'does this person actually send the prize?'

What happens if a winner never replies?

Decide the window before you draw, since 48 hours and 7 days are both common, and state it in the rules. Then follow it exactly and post when you do. Take the original winner off the wheel and redraw in public among the remaining entries.

The trap is generosity. Waiting an extra week for a winner who has gone quiet feels kind, but you have changed the rules mid-game and the people who would have won the redraw have a real grievance.

Someone says their entry was missing. What now?

This is why publishing the final entry count before the draw matters. It fixes the list in place and gives people a chance to check while it still matters. Afterwards, the entry list and the draw history are the record; if the entry genuinely was not there, the honest move is to say so and decide publicly whether to redraw.

What happens to my data?

The free wheel keeps your list in your own browser's local storage and sends nothing to a server. For account-backed wheels, see the privacy policy for what is collected and how to have it removed.