How we run our competitions
Ruby Competitions Ltd is a signatory to the Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Our name appears on the published signatory list.
Prize competitions are not licensed by the Gambling Commission, because a genuine free entry route is offered. In place of a licence, the government and the industry agreed a voluntary code covering player protections, transparency and accountability. We signed it. The Code asks signatories to publish everything they do to meet it, so that is what this page is. It follows the Code's own three sections, so you can read it side by side with the Code itself and check we are doing what we say.
1. Protecting players
Keeping entry to adults, giving you real control over what you spend, and getting help to anyone who needs it.
Age and identity
- Entry is restricted to over-18s on every competition we run. Code 1.1
- Date of birth is required when you open an account, and on every postal entry.
- Every winner must provide valid photographic ID before a prize is released or paid out.
- We never target advertising at under-18s on any channel.
Payment and spending
- We accept no credit card payments at all, on any competition. The Code permits up to £250 a month; we have chosen to go further and take debit cards and mobile wallets only. Code 1.3
- You can set your own spend limits from your account, including a limit of £0. Limits can be set when you register or straight after your first entry. Code 1.4
- Lowering a limit takes effect immediately. Raising one carries a cooling-off period before it applies.
Taking a break, or stopping
- You can pause your account for a short period if you just want some breathing space.
- You can suspend your account for a minimum of six months, during which you cannot enter and we send you no marketing at all. Code 1.5
- You can close your account permanently at any time.
- Ask us at [email protected] and we will action it, no questions and no attempt to talk you out of it.
Watching for harm
- From the moment an account opens, we monitor activity for signs that entering may be causing difficulty. Code 1.6
- Signals we look at include how often a player reaches their spend limit, sudden changes in spending, repeated changes of payment method, and anything a player tells us directly.
- Where we see those signs, we contact the player, point them to the support below, and where the concern is serious we will stop them entering. Code 1.7
- Every competition runs for a minimum of three weeks, so nobody is pushed into a snap decision. Code 1.9
How we advertise
- Our marketing follows the CAP and BCAP advertising codes and is written to be socially responsible. Code 1.11
- We never suggest that entering is a way out of money worries, a substitute for earning a living, or an escape from personal problems.
- All our marketing is produced in-house. We use no affiliates and pay no promoters or influencers.
Support and advice
The Code asks us to point players towards help for whatever kind of difficulty they are facing, not just gambling harm. All of these are free, confidential and independent of us.
Money and debt
If entering has left you short, or debt is building up, free advice is available and the people giving it will not judge you.
Gambling harm
Competitions sit close to gambling. If entering has stopped feeling like a bit of fun, these services help with exactly that.
Someone to talk to
Money trouble is hard to carry on your own. If things feel heavier than they should, please talk to someone.
2. Being transparent
Telling you how a draw works, what your chances are, and how to enter for free, before you spend anything.
How draws are decided
- Prizes are awarded in accordance with the laws of chance. No person at Ruby Competitions decides or influences who wins. Code 2.1
- Every draw, live or automatic, uses the Certified TrueNorth True RNG method, which produces verifiably random and auditable results. Code 2.2
- Paid entries and free postal entries go into the same draw with an equal chance of winning each prize.
- Entry lists are publicly viewable, and every draw is published once complete.
What you know before you enter
- Entry price, the maximum number of entries and the closing date are shown on every competition page. Code 2.3
- The full rules and the answer requirement, where one applies, are set out in our Terms.
- Instant win competitions are never the majority of what we have running at any time, and their free entry route works exactly as the paid one does. Code 1.10
Entering for free
- Every competition has a free postal entry route, shown before the point of purchase, not buried. Code 2.4
- Send an unenclosed postcard with the competition name, your name, address, telephone number, email and date of birth to our registered address.
- Closing dates always leave enough time for a posted entry to arrive and be counted. If one arrives late, we give you an equivalent entry on a competition of your choice.
Prizes
- We award the prize as advertised, or a reasonable cash alternative, and we deliver promptly. Code 2.5
- We never reduce a prize, move a closing date or cancel a draw because entry numbers were low.
- We do not run charitable competitions, so no part of what you pay is presented as a donation. Code 2.6
3. Being accountable
Answering complaints properly, checking our own compliance, and holding our suppliers to the same standard.
Complaints
- We acknowledge every complaint within 2 working days. Code 1.2
- We give a full written response within 10 working days of that acknowledgement, and never take longer than 28 days in total.
- If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can take it to independent dispute resolution free of charge. Details are in our complaints policy.
Checking ourselves
- We review our compliance with the Code regularly and act promptly on anything we find falling short. Code 3.1
- Our platform provider, RaffleX, is itself a signatory to the Code. We have no affiliate marketers or third-party draw managers. Code 3.2
- We share what we learn with other operators, and we publish the measures on this page so anyone can hold us to them. Code 3.3, 3.4
- Where we change how a competition or the platform works, we tell customers before the change takes effect.
Your account, your control
Set a spend limit, pause your account, or close it for good. All of it is in your account settings, and none of it needs a conversation with us first.
The Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators was published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 21 November 2025 and took full effect for signatories on 20 May 2026. It is voluntary, and it is not a licence, an accreditation or a government endorsement of any operator, including us. Signing it does not by itself mean we have complied with advertising, consumer or data protection law, which apply to us separately. You can read the Code in full at gov.uk. Ruby Competitions Ltd, company number NI716871, registered at 38 Ashfield Court, Donaghadee, BT21 0BF.