Help & FAQs

Choose a competition, pick how many tickets you want and add them to your basket. When you’re ready, sign in (or create an account) and pay. You can also enter every competition for free by post — see Free Postal Entry.

Yes. You need an Essential Comps account to enter, by purchase or by post, so that we can allocate your ticket numbers and contact you if you win. You must be 18 or over and live in the UK.

No. Your basket remembers what you’d like to buy, but it doesn’t reserve tickets. When you place your order, its tickets are held for a few minutes (at most five, and never past the competition’s close) while you pay. Ticket numbers are allocated once your payment has gone through.

Your entry counts if your payment was authorised at or before the close, even if our confirmation arrives a moment later. Starting to pay doesn’t extend the deadline: a payment authorised after the close isn’t taken — any pending amount on your card is released, not charged — and you won’t get tickets. All times are UK time.

As soon as your payment is complete. Each ticket gets its own number, chosen at random from the competition’s available numbers. You’ll find them in My Competitions in your account.

Yes. Each competition has a maximum number of entries per person, shown on the competition page. Paid, postal and promotional entries all count towards it, and so do entries that were later refunded.

Yes — every competition has a free postal entry route with exactly the same chance of winning as a paid entry. Postal entries must arrive by 12:00 midday (UK time) on the day before the competition closes. Full instructions are on our Free Postal Entry page.

When a competition closes, its entries are fixed and sealed. The winning ticket is then worked out from those entries and public randomness that didn’t exist when they were sealed, so nobody — including us — can choose or influence the result. Paid, postal and Essential Points entries all have exactly the same chance. Anyone can check a result on its Verify this draw page.

A Live Draw takes place at the advertised time and is broadcast live on our official channels. An Auto Draw is made automatically by our draw system shortly after the competition closes, and its result is revealed in the Draw Centre.

Yes. Every competition is guaranteed to be drawn, however many tickets are sold. We never extend a closing date or delay a draw to sell more tickets. A draw is only postponed if something outside our control stops it from happening fairly, such as a technical failure — and then it goes ahead as soon as possible with the same entries.

Every result is published in Draw Results, with the winner’s name, winning ticket number and prize. Our Winners page celebrates recent winners.

No — watching is optional and doesn’t affect your chance of winning.

You’ll get an automatic email telling you what you’ve won, and our team will then contact you using the details in your account — for a Live Draw normally by phone first and otherwise by email, and for an Auto Draw by email. Please keep your phone number and email address up to date in Account Details.

Please reply within 7 days of our team’s first attempt to contact you (the automatic winner email doesn’t start the 7 days). We’ll follow up by phone and/or email during that time. If we don’t hear from you within 7 days, the prize is forfeited and may be redrawn.

Yes, before any cash or physical prize is released — normally with a passport or driving licence, which we’ll ask you to email to winners@essentialcomps.co.uk. Please complete verification within 14 days of our request. We delete the email and documents within 30 days of our decision.

Where a competition offers a cash alternative, it is shown on the competition page and you can choose it once you’re confirmed as the winner. Cash is paid by UK bank transfer to an account in your verified name. Cash prizes and Essential Points prizes don’t have a cash alternative.

Physical prizes are normally sent directly from one of our UK suppliers. We’ll confirm your delivery details and keep you updated.

Yes. Draw Results shows each winner’s name, winning ticket number and prize, and our Winners page and social channels may show your first name, surname initial and town or city. Photos, videos and reviews are only ever shared if you agree.

You currently earn 1 Essential Point for every £1 you pay in cash. Points aren’t earned on the part of an order paid with Points or covered by a discount.

Each point is worth 1p towards competition entries. You can choose to use them at checkout to pay for some or all of your order. Points can’t be exchanged for cash.

Yes — at the end of the month, one year after you received them. Your balance and history are in Essential Points in your account.

Share your personal referral link from Rewards in your account. When the person you referred makes their first paid order with at least the minimum cash amount, you receive the reward shown there after a short pending period.

Yes. If you’ve confirmed your date of birth in your account, we add a birthday reward automatically on your birthday each year.

Update your mobile number and address, and change your email address or password, in Account Details. Your name and date of birth are used to verify winners, so only our team can change them once set — please email us if either is wrong.

Choose email, SMS and WhatsApp separately in Marketing Preferences, or use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email. We’ll still send messages you need about your orders, entries, wins and account.

Everything is in Responsible Play in your account: your monthly limit, breaks, suspensions and account closure. Our Responsible Play page explains each tool and lists independent support.

Use “Cookie settings” at the bottom of any page. Our Cookie Policy explains each category.

Entries are final once bought, but we give refunds in some situations, such as a cancelled competition. We aim to process an approved refund within 5 Working Days, back to the card you paid with. See our Refund Policy.