Raffle draw and random winner picker
Enter the names with their number of tickets, or the range of ticket numbers, and draw winners and alternates. Keep the record of the draw as a text file.
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Enter the entries or the ticket numbers and select “Draw winners”.
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In this order, if a winner does not claim the prize.
Show the draw record
Something went wrong. Your entries are still here.
How to use it
- Choose “Names, with tickets per person” or “Ticket numbers”.
- For names, write one entry per line, such as “Ann Lee, 3” for three tickets. A name without a number has one ticket. For printed tickets, enter the first and the last number.
- Set the number of winners and, if prizes may go unclaimed, the number of alternates.
- Leave “Each person can win only once” ticked unless one person may win several prizes.
- Select “Draw winners”, then “Download record (.txt)” to keep the result with its date and time.
How the draw works
The tool behaves like a hat full of tickets. In names mode the tickets are numbered in the order of the list: with Ann 3 and Ben 2, Ann holds tickets 1 to 3 and Ben tickets 4 and 5. For every prize, one ticket is drawn from those still in the hat, each with the same chance, using the cryptographic random generator of your browser and discarding values that would favour some tickets.
Winners are drawn first and alternates after them, in the same way and in order. With “Each person can win only once”, the other tickets of a drawn person leave the hat, so the next draw is among the others; otherwise only the drawn ticket leaves and the same person can be drawn again with another ticket. In ticket numbers mode every number is a ticket and no number is drawn twice.
Worked example
Ann bought 3 tickets, Ben and Cy 1 each: 5 tickets. For the first prize, Ann has 3 chances in 5, which is 60%, and Ben and Cy have 20% each.
With two prizes and “Each person can win only once”, Ann misses out only if Ben or Cy is drawn first (2 in 5) and then the other one of them (1 in 4, since Ann still has 3 of the 4 tickets left): 2/5 × 1/4 = 1/10. So Ann wins a prize with a chance of 90%, and Ben and Cy with 55% each. The three chances add up to 200%, because two people win.
| Entry | Tickets | First prize | Either prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ann | 3 | 60% | 90% |
| Ben | 1 | 20% | 55% |
| Cy | 1 | 20% | 55% |
The draw record
The record lists the date and time of the draw in your local time with its offset from UTC and in UTC, the method and settings, the winners and alternates with their ticket numbers and, in names mode, every entry with its number of tickets, in the form in which it can be pasted back into the tool. Download it or copy it into your own notes. The site keeps no copy.
An ordinary draw uses fresh random numbers and cannot be repeated, so the record is your evidence. Draw in front of the participants or record the screen if they need to see it happen.
Verifiable draw with a sealed seed
For a draw that people should be able to check afterwards, open “Verifiable draw with a sealed seed”. Then the random numbers come from a secret seed instead of the generator: from SHA-256 of the seed, a public value and all settings, including the list. The same inputs always give the same winners, on any device.
- Before the draw, select “Make a new seed”, keep the seed secret and publish its fingerprint together with the final list of entries. The fingerprint is the SHA-256 of the seed; it does not reveal the seed.
- At the draw, enter a public value that nobody knew in advance, such as numbers called out by the audience, and draw.
- After the draw, publish the seed and the public value. Anyone can paste the list, the settings, the seed and the public value into this page and gets the same winners, and anyone can check that the seed has the published fingerprint.
What this shows: the seed was fixed before the public value was known and was not changed afterwards, so the organizer could neither pick the seed to suit the result nor try several draws. What it does not show: that the list is complete and every entry genuine, or that the public value was really unknown to the organizer. It is a way to make a draw checkable, not a guarantee of honesty.
Rules for raffles
Many countries, states and cities regulate raffles and lotteries, especially when tickets are sold, and some require a licence or a public draw. This page gives no legal advice. Check the rules that apply to you before you sell tickets.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
- Can one person have several entries?
- Yes. Write the number of tickets after the name, such as “Ann Lee, 3”, or put the name on several lines; the tool adds the tickets up and says which names it merged. Each ticket is one chance.
- What are alternates for?
- For prizes that are not claimed. Alternates are drawn after the winners, in order. If the first winner does not respond, the first alternate gets the prize, and so on.
- Can I prove the draw to the participants?
- An ordinary draw cannot be repeated; keep the record and draw in public. The verifiable draw lets anyone repeat it once you publish the seed, and the fingerprint shows the seed was fixed beforehand.
- How large can a raffle be?
- Up to 500 names with up to 10,000 tickets each and 1,000,000 tickets in total, or ticket numbers from 0 to 999,999,999. Up to 100 winners and 100 alternates can be drawn at once.
- Is the list of entries uploaded?
- No. The draw is made by your browser, and the record file is created on your device. The site does not see or keep the list, the seed or the result.
Last updated: September 29, 2026