Money & odds
Setting a spending limit on competitions (and sticking to it)
Two pounds at a time feels like nothing. A simple monthly budget, decided in advance, keeps competitions as entertainment rather than a habit.
Competition tickets are cheap individually, which is exactly why spending creeps. A few tickets at lunchtime, an instant win in the evening, a "last chance" email at the weekend. By the end of the month it can add up to more than you would ever have spent in one go.
Decide the number before you start
Choose a monthly amount you would happily spend on a night out or a hobby and would not miss if it brought nothing back. Treat it as the price of entertainment, not an investment. Write it down. A number in your head is easy to stretch; a number on paper is not.
Tools that make the limit stick
- Account limits. Many competition sites now let you set daily, weekly or monthly spending limits and cool-off periods. Set them on day one.
- A separate card or pot. A prepaid card or a separate pot in your banking app, topped up once a month, puts a hard ceiling on spending.
- Your bank's gambling block. Many UK banks offer a block on gambling transactions. Competition payments are not always caught by it, because competitions are not legally gambling, so do not rely on it alone.
- Turn off the nudges. Unsubscribe from marketing emails and texts, and mute notifications. "Only 50 tickets left!" is a sales message, not news.
Signs it is no longer just fun
If any of these sound familiar, read our guide to entering responsibly for free, confidential places to get support.
- Spending more than you planned, more than once.
- Buying more tickets to "win back" what you have spent.
- Hiding how much you spend from people close to you.
- Feeling anxious or low when you do not win.
- Borrowing money or using credit to enter.
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Questions or corrections? [email protected]