Approved Raffle Providers
Can the closing date be extended?
Every online prize draw (prize competition) should have an entry closing date, but can the closing date be extended?
A closing date is the time at which entries for a draw ends and no more entries are allowed. This makes for a much more entertaining and fun experience because if not many tickets are sold then the odds of wining are increased. Furthermore, it is a clear indication of how long you have to buy tickets!
Most online raffle providers will state on their website something along the lines of..
“GUARANTEED DRAW, REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY TICKETS SELL”
Why would a closing date be extended?
Not selling enough tickets
The legitimate online prize draw providers will limit how many tickets are available for each draw. Let us say for example that there is a limit of 1000 tickets on sale and the closing date is 7 days from the start of the draw. The draw provider will hope to sell all 1000 tickets before the closing date.
If all tickets are not sold then the draw provider may be tempted to extend the closing date.
Technical Issues
Some online prize draw providers will experience genuine technical issues that may lead to a closing date being extended. This could be due to payment problems, advertising issues or website downtime, to name a few.
Non-legitimate draw providers may use ‘technical issues’ as a reason to extend the closing date because they haven’t sold enough tickets. Draw providers who are quite new and struggling to sell tickets may resort to this.
Personal Circumstances
Some unexpected personal circumstances, beyond the online prize draw providers control, may result in a closing date being extended.
The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP)
The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) code rule 8.17.4 states the following guidance on closing dates:-
Closing dates are listed in rule 8.17 as being a significant condition which must be included in marketing communications, where not doing so could be misleading. Most promotions are likely to need a closing date, however, closing dates may not always be necessary, for example if the offer’s duration is limited by availability only, or if it is a loyalty scheme run on an open ended basis (8.17.4.a). If a promoter does not have a set closing date for a promotion, they must be able to demonstrate that the absence of a closing date will not disadvantage consumers (8.17.4.c).
In simple terms, a closing date must not be extended. If it is, the online prize draw provider must be able to prove that this has been done due to circumstances out of their control!
It is then exceptionally difficult to know if the reasons behind a closing date being extended are genuine or not. However, these things do happen and it can be forgiven if it happens once or twice.
If you find closing dates are being regularly extended, then we would recommend that you are very cautious about entering any further draws with that provider. You should find that the majority of established providers will never extend their closing dates. The ‘Guaranteed draw, regardless of how many tickets sell’ tagline is a vital part of a draw providers business model. This is what gives the entering of a draw an extra element of fun! After all, you could enter an online prize draw and only a small amount of tickets sell! If the draw is guaranteed then your chance of winning is extremely high!