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How it works

Real tools from our own warehouse, honest odds and a draw anyone can check. Here's exactly how it works, from picking a prize to getting it delivered.

The four steps

  1. Pick a prize Every draw shows the prize, the price, the max tickets and the closing time up front.
  2. Enter online or free by post Buy tickets by card, or send a postcard. Both get exactly the same chance.
  3. Get random ticket numbers Numbers are picked at random, so buying early or late makes no difference. On instant wins you see straight away if you've won. They're emailed and saved in your account.
  4. A fair draw you can check At the closing time we lock the entry list, then a public random number nobody controls picks the winner. We publish everything so anyone can check it.

Your odds

Every competition shows its maximum number of tickets. Your chance with one ticket is 1 in the number of tickets sold, and never worse than 1 in the maximum. If a 2,999-ticket comp only sells 1,200, each ticket has a 1 in 1,200 chance. More tickets means more chances, but there's always a cap per person so nobody can buy the lot.

How the winner is picked

  1. Before it closes, the comp page names the exact random number we'll use: a numbered “round” from drand, a free public random number service run by universities and companies around the world. Nobody, including us, can know or change it in advance.
  2. At the closing time, sales stop. Postcards that arrived in time are keyed in, then the full list of tickets is locked and we publish its fingerprint (SHA-256). Any change to the list would change the fingerprint.
  3. When that drand round comes out, about 30 minutes after the close, it gives a random number between 1 and the maximum number of tickets. That number is the winning ticket number.
  4. If nobody holds that ticket (it wasn't sold), we use drand's next number, 30 seconds later, and so on until it's a ticket somebody holds. Every sold ticket has exactly the same chance.
  5. We publish everything: the entry list, the fingerprint and every number used, and anyone can check it in one tap on the results page.

A worked example

Max tickets3,0001,200 sold, locked at the close
First random number2,950Nobody bought ticket 2,950, so we use drand's next number
Next random number2,113Published by drand 30 seconds later
Winning ticket#2,113The random number is the ticket number

Same list and same random number always give the same winner, so the result can't be quietly changed.

Instant wins

On instant win comps, the winning ticket numbers are picked at random before the comp opens and sealed with a fingerprint shown on the comp page. If you're given one of those numbers, you win that prize straight away and see it on screen. Every ticket, winner or not, is still in the end-prize draw. If a winning number isn't sold or entered by the closing time, that prize isn't won and isn't redrawn. The full list is published when entries close, so you can see which numbers were issued.

Free entry and giveaways

Every paid comp can be entered free by post with exactly the same chance as a paid ticket. There's also a free giveaway every week with one free entry each, no card needed.

After the draw

Everyone who entered gets the result by email. We phone and email the winner, check photo ID, then deliver the prize free from our warehouse. See Winners and prizes.

Points and credit

You earn 10 points for every £1 you pay by card. 100 points = £1 site credit to use on tickets. Credit can't be exchanged for cash.

See live comps

Questions about this?Email [email protected] and a real person at Tools 2U Direct will reply, usually within 2 working days.

Last updated 1 November 2026. Tools 2U Direct SW Ltd, company no. 12774657.